The Past Always Comes Back to Bite (EITTW 2)
by Burning-Stars98
Summary: Things are going well, up until Ratchet and Optimus show up with news: Shockwave is on Earth again, in pursuit of two young bots who have knowledge of his plans. Finding the scientist's targets is easy enough, but as secrets from the past are revealed, it turns out that Shockwave is up to more than just removing witnesses... (Some characters borrowed from other continuities)
1. Prologue

Cybertron. A world of metal and technology. It had once been the battleground of a war that lasted thousands of Earth years, but for now it was peaceful, healing slowly but surely under the guidance and control of the Autobot Faction.

Those of the Decepticon Faction were thin-spread across the planet, still stirring up trouble and attempting to destroy whatever peace the Autobots had managed to create in the few short years that it had been since the war ended.

On this side of the planet, it was what could be considered night, though the planet's sun was too distant to really make a difference in the light or temperature of it's surface. But even night was as busy as any other time, bots swarming across the surface in all directions going about their business. Their numbers were low in the history of the census, but was steadily regaining strength as more lives emerged from the depths of the Well of Allsparks, always glowing with a soothing blue light that stretched across the skies like the Aurora Borealis of Earth.

One Autobot was admiring the glow from his window, a glass of precious energon in one hand. The hustle and bustle of the world below barely bothered him in his upper-level home. Stacks of data tablets sat on the desk for him to sort through, he'd do that later. There was the faint sound of music from the flat above him, and the hum of the activity below him in the streets.

So much had happened since the end of the war, so much discovery and change; he was having difficulty remembering it all.

A soft chirp from his desk caught his attention, and he moved from the windowsill to collect one tablet in particular, it's screen lit up blue with a blinking white box. A video communication request.

He got plenty of messages throughout the day, but this one was from a very important bot. He tapped the box, and a solemn face appeared on the screen.

"Ratchet." The bot greeted, his voice warped a little by the weaker signal.

Ratchet gave a slow nod. "Optimus..." He whispered. "...It is good to see you."

"I only wish it was under better circumstances, Old Friend..." Optimus reported. "...I have received word that a shuttle was stolen from the Cliffjumper Memorial Airbase, and accessed the Space-Bridge and warped to Earth's coordinates... Shockwave was among the bots that boarded."

Ratchet's systems froze for a moment. Shockwave...In all the years it had been since Cybertron had been restored, they'd never managed to capture or even locate the mad scientist that had served under Lord Megatron's command.

It seemed that not even Predaking, one of Shockwave's creations from cloned predacon bones, was aware of his whereabouts. That, or he was not interested in telling. Not many attempted bother the predacon, and none dared to interrogate him. You had to be careful around him, especially when he could easily get you in his mouth and shake you like a ragdoll until your optics were knocked out of their sockets and into your feet.

His "subjects" had slowly but surely been emerging from seemingly nowhere, numbering in the teens by this time. Their existence implied that Shockwave was either creating more predacons, or pre-existing subjects had escaped the lab and found themselves under Predaking's care.

Ratchet forced himself back out of his thoughts, returning his gaze to Optimus' face on the screen. "Did anyone get a lead on his intentions on Earth?"

"Not that we have uncovered. However, one of the surviving guards at the airbase was able to inform us that Shockwave was accompanied by four decepticon bounty hunters, and had two unidentified bots as hostages."

"I can only assume that you intend to pursue them."

"Affirmative, and I desire for you to accompany me."

"Of course. Just let me clear my schedule and pack my bags."

The slightest hint of a smile appeared on the Prime's face, but it disappeared just as quickly. "I will send you the meeting coordinates."

"Understood."

The Prime's face disappeared, and Ratchet turned to the piles of data tablets, giving a hard sigh. "...Lifeline and Flatline will not be pleased to see that waiting for them, but that's what they get for signing up as my students."


	2. 1 Escaped

It was a well-known fact that even a perfectly-planned strategy can have flaws, and this was no different.

They had immediately known something was wrong when the ship began rattling around, and even more when the lights began to flicker. A simple jump across space had suddenly become not so simple, especially for the Bounty Hunters. They'd been out for a quick score, and transporting two already incapacitated prisoners was easy pickings. Two young bots, barely out of the Well of Allsparks, cuffed and unconscious alongside a minicon that was caged and barely moved except for an occasional growl accompanying glowing optics from the darkness.

It seemed all too easy, though they had to wonder what Shockwave had in store for them, or why he'd chosen them in the first place.

That's what they'd thought.

They left Greasefire in the prison chamber to make sure neither of the bots escaped, not that they expected them to. Moments after entering the Space Bridge, however, what had started out as a smooth ride instantly became rocked with turbulance.

Somewhere in the space they were passing through as they were warped from one side of the universe to another, they'd encountered a cosmic storm. Those energies rattled the ship from stern to bow, and all bots were knocked from their feet, except for their employer, who was seated in the pilot's seat and only narrowed his singular optic in response to the anomaly as the ship shook and creaked around him. Alarms blared throughout the cabin, lights flickering on and off for several moments, before they finally broke free of the vortex, and the ship's trembling eased. The lights remained red, damage reports manifesting on the screen. It wasn't serious, but enough to cripple the ship for a few minutes.

A few minutes was all it took.

The Bounty Hunters received a distress call from their member who'd been watching the prisoners, and it only took hearing the crashing sounds in the background to tell them something was up. Two rushed to assist their ally, opening the door to find him on the floor with deep, bleeding gashes all over his body, and the two prisoners missing through another door that had been ripped open. Energon was splattered all over the walls and floor, and clawmarks gouged out the sides of the doors.

They entered the next hall, only to see the pair disappear into an escape pod.

"GET THEM!"

But by the time they got to the port, the pod had blasted away from the ship, plummeting towards the planet below and out of their reach. The pair couldn't have possibly even had time to strap themselves in before ejecting. "Follow that pod's trajectory! Find out where it's going to land!"

They returned to the prison chamber, their fellow hunter painfully trying to get to his feet. "What happened!?"

"The lights went out... His optics opened... All I saw was murder... I don't think he was out after all. Maybe we were _wrong_ takin' him out of that facility...!"

The remainders returned to the bridge, worried about what their employer might do to them, now that their prize had escaped. The optics of the one that had remained on the bridge were narrowed, but he said nothing. Of the four of them, he was the only one that was not a part of their group, hired at another time along with his two torpedo minicons.

The scientist stood, his solitary optic watching the pod as it plummeted towards the planet. "They escaped you..."

The hunters were silent, all certain that he would turn his arm cannon on them at any moment.

Imagine to their surprise when the decepticon gave a light chuckle, and then said one word.

"Excellent..."

* * *

Indeed, the pair hadn't strapped themselves down. The mech held his femme companion close to his chestplate as he slammed his fist on the button, and then was thrown back into the door as the pod blasted out of the port and away from the mothership. The roar of the engine faded, and the mech finally let out a cry of relief after several seconds of silence. "W-We're not dead... WE'RE NOT DEAD!" He cried. "Thank you, Primus!"

The femme's hands were clasped over her mouth, but she finally moved them, resting her helm on his chestplate with a hard sigh of relief. "...I am sorry for stopping you...But-"

"Don't be...It was the right thing to do."

The mech shifted position to take the controls. He'd known getting in that it would be cramped, because not only were there two bots in a one-bot pod, but he was larger than most bots anyway. "We only have a matter of time before they come after us. We have to make our final days count."

The femme crossed her arms from her place beside him, pinned against the wall with her legs curled up to her chest. "I...Do not like that... You think we will die."

Her optics moved to the cuts on her companion's body that were only just deep enough to draw energon, and the sparks coming from a crack in his left temple, a current reminder of the fact that they'd just escaped from what would have been a fatal situation, thanks to sheer luck and her companion's skills. All of his injuries would heal within days...That bounty hunter would probably have scars from the wounds he'd been dealt. Drying energon was still on the mech's hands and splattered on his torso and arms.

"I never said how many final days we have, it could be millions of stellar-cycles."

The femme was silent for many seconds, her gaze falling on the planet they were heading for. "This planet is not like Cybertron."

"No... Thank you."

"For what?"

The mech grinned as he turned towards her. "...For keeping your helm on back there. You know..." his smile faded, "...When I _didn't_."

The femme's smile back was brief, her face once again returning to seriousness as she placed a hand on his arm. "I wanted to come...But they wouldn't...They said it would...stop the-"

"I know you did..."

The mech's face fell as he saw his friend twitch, a few sparks flying from her neck joint as her helm jerked to the side. "How's the pain?"

"...Still there."

He remembered meeting her in the infirmary, seeing that tiny, glitching frame curled up pitifully in the corner, barely able to speak or move without extreme discomfort from her malfunctioning systems. Random, mix-matching bits of discarded armor covering her sparking body, because she wasn't even able to forge her own.

He was her first friend, and she was his. That friendship, though still young, had lasted even when they were apart, when things had seemed hopeless and they couldn't see each other.

The femme looked at the planet again. "...You can land this...Right?"

"I've flown plenty of times, 'Tate."

"I mean a ship..."

"I know...I _hope_ I can."

"That...Does not make me feel any better."

"No, but if I say it enough times...Maybe I'll start to believe it."

**Planetary Impact Imminent. Protective measures suggested.**

"J-Just get us down there in one piece, you hunk of junk...!"

* * *

"SIDESWIPE!"

Even Bumblebee winced as he heard Strongarm's voice echo across the Scrapyard. Things had seemed to be going so good today, but maybe it all had just been swept under the rug until there was a lump in the middle. He turned to the red autobot, who had been stacking energon cubes before having his name called. He now stood with one cube in his hands, optics wide as he looked around frantically.

"What did you do this time?" Bumblebee sighed.

"I don't even _know_...!" Sideswipe squeaked, fear and confusion in his optics. "Y-Yes...!?" He replied.

The police cadet came around the corner, shaking what appeared to be flour from her chassis which had left her in a powdery coating of white. "Oh, you'd better _hope_ this doesn't gunk up my joints...!"

"It wasn't me, I _swear_!" Sideswipe insisted. "I've been helping Bumblebee with random stuff all morning!"

"It's true. He _has_..."

"Who else would just leave sacks of flour dangling precariously off of stacks for someone to walk under!?"

"Perhaps a little bot who doesn't know where things go...?" Sideswipe motioned with his hands. "About waist-high, six months old, likes to ask lots of questions you don't have answers for? Sound familiar?"

"As much as I dislike people blaming my daughter for things going wrong, Sideswipe may be right." Bumblebee murmured. "...Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a little while."

"Flashdrive!?" Sideswipe called, but there was no answer. "Flashdrive!"

"We'd better locate her." Strongarm muttered, shaking more flour off of her whenever she moved.

Bumblebee gave a mild glare to Sideswipe as he stifled a giggle. "Really?"

"Just because I didn't do it doesn't mean I can't find it funny, Bee..."

The Lieutenant rolled his eyes, then tapped his comm. "Fixit, is Flashdrive anywhere near you?"

**No Lieutenant. I haven't seen her lately.**

"Same here..."

There was a gnawing feeling in Bumblebee's insides the longer they searched and called his daughter's name, and she didn't answer, and they didn't find her. She could be sleeping soundly somewhere, perfectly fine, but it was his job as her parent to worry.

He'd looked under every stack, in every section of the Scrapyard, and called for her several times, and there was nothing. Panic was settling in, and he paused in the clearing, putting a hand to his chest. "Where is she...!?" He hissed.

"We'll find her, Bee." Grimlock informed.

"We can't use the scanner to locate her because she's not wearing a transmitter." Strongarm informed. "She could be anywhere."

"You're not helping, Strongarm..." Sideswipe hissed.

Bumblebee closed his optics. He felt something coming through the panic, a fear and trembling... She was terrified, and hurting. But most importantly, he felt a pull in a certain direction.

His optics opened once again. "...I know where she is."


	3. 2 Landing

The further Bumblebee drove, the more guilty he felt. How could he have not noticed her absence long enough for her to have wandered this far? But if Steeljaw was the one responsible for his daughter's pain, then that mutt had given his last howl.

The feeling guiding him was what Bumblebee could only describe as a bond that only they shared. Sideswipe understood that perfectly, feeling the same thing with his twin brother Sunstreaker. The pair were keeping in touch much better than they had in a long time since they'd been reunited and reconciled on Earth six months prior, and whenever Sunstreaker called up on the holo-screen, Flashdrive and Sunstreaker's charge Starstrike could have a chance to talk. Flashdrive loved showing her friend all of the sculptures she made out of scrap metal.

The pull led him, Sideswipe and Strongarm along the coastline and into a wooded area. In fact, it was only a few miles from where Bumblebee had given birth to Flashdrive only a few months prior. He paused at a clearing, dotted with picnic tables and several large boulders; a rest stop for humans traveling long-distances. He made a quick search for humans, and then transformed into bot mode. "Flashdrive?" He called softly. "...Flashdrive, please answer me...!"

A sound caught his attention, and he saw a little hand peeking out from between a few of the boulders. "Hold on Sweetspark, I'm coming!" He called.

He ran over to her, followed closely by Sideswipe and Strongarm. His optics went wide and he gave a sharp gasp as he saw his daughter, lying on the ground with energon all over her and in a puddle underneath her. "Sweet Solus Prime...!"

"Oh...Oh that's nasty...!" Sideswipe whimpered, swallowing hard to try to force down the sudden wave of nausea washing over him.

Bumblebee reached down slowly. "What hurts? Are you bleeding?" He asked, trying to sound calm and gentle despite panic wanting to take over.

Flashdrive shook her head. She opened her mouth a little, and then with a cry, heaved up some more energon. "I-It won't stop coming back up...!" She cried, her chassis trembling. "H-Help me...!"

Bumblebee's fears were quelled a little bit. She wasn't attacked and bleeding out, but she still shouldn't be puking up energon, especially this much in comparison to her size. "We're gonna get you home and cleaned up, okay...? How'd you get out here...?"

"I-I don't know! I was just sitting at home and then...Everything was spinning and I was here and...And-"

"Shh shh shh..." Bumblebee picked her up, holding her closely to his chest. "It's okay...You're gonna be okay, I promise..."

"Sir..." Strongarm murmured, "How can you hold her when she's covered in energon like that?"

Bumblebee smirked. "It's a parenting thing, you wouldn't understand." He replied, "Fixit, get us a groundbridge ASAP, and get ready to examine Flashdrive...She's really ill."

**Of course, Lieutenant.**

Flashdrive swallowed hard, resting her head on his shoulder plate. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. We'll get this figured out and get you feeling better..."

The Groundbridge appeared after a moment, and Bumblebee hurried through it, reemerging in the Scrapyard. Flashdrive continued to tremble, giving little sobs. "Try not to cry, that'll only make you feel worse, alright Sweetspark...?"

Flashdrive nodded, giving a sniffle.

Bumblebee wouldn't put his daughter down, instead sitting down on the trailer where Fixit could reach her.

"That's just nasty..." Grimlock murmured, "You're gonna need a bath, Bee."

Bumblebee chuckled. "Yeah...But it's not like I've never gotten energon on my hands."

Flashdrive's sniffling faded as she snuggled with her parent, her little fingers tracing down his windshield. Bumblebee took a towel from Denny and wiped himself and Flashdrive off, trying very carefully not to shake the little bot around.

"Well... I have good news and bad news." Fixit explained after several minutes of scanning the virocon.

"Bad news first, Fixit..." Bumblebee requested.

"I am picking up traces of CN24 in her system. This would explain her disorientation and vomiting, her systems are still too underdeveloped to handle and demetabolize the chemical."

"CN24..." Strongarm's eyes narrowed. "...That's a chemical commonly found in High Grade Energon. It gives you that buzzing feeling in their processor."

"Exactly. The good news is that her vomiting has managed to get most of the chemical out of her systems, but it'll probably be a day or two before she's fully back to normal. The bad news is... I have absolutely no idea how she could have gotten it into her system in the first place."

"We don't keep High Grade here in the Scrapyard." Bumblebee expressed. "And until now she's never really left the yard except for when she fled into the desert..."

Flashdrive's optics opened a little bit. "D-Daddy... I don't know what happened..."

"It's gonna be okay, Sweetspark. Just rest, okay? You'll feel better."

A sudden beeping from the Command Center attracted their attention, and Fixit quickly rolled back up the ramp to investigate. "An incoming ship, Sir. And a pod of some sort has just entered Earth's atmosphere. Estimated landing trajectory is... The northern rural area of Crown City."

Bumblebee sighed. "Alright...Sideswipe, Strongarm, head for the pod's estimated landing location and ensure all humans are clear of the area. And_ please_, try to keep this civil for once..."

The pair crossed their arms as they glared at one another, but gave nods before transforming and driving away to their assignment.

"I would suggest less than fifteen minutes before the Mayor of Crown City calls inquiring about the pod's presence." Drift informed.

Bumblebee groaned, putting a hand to his helm as he shook it. "Don't remind me..."

Ever since the Autobots had informed Crown City of their presence on Earth, they had given the mayor a communicator that would connect to the Command Center in case of an "extra-terrestrial emergency." So far, most of the reports they'd gotten from him were false alarms, and Bumblebee was beginning to wonder whether the decision was a good one.

The Lieutenant got up again, rocking back and forth slowly as Flashdrive started to fall asleep in his arms.

His optics looked up, however, as he heard something come in overhead, and as the cloaking pulled back, he recognized the ship. "Prime Force One... Well, I knew it was only a matter of time..."

* * *

**Planetary Impact Imminent.**

"I _KNOW_ THAT!"

The mech's fingers were tightly grasped around the controls as the pod shook about. "Come on...Come on!"

His companion was once again sitting with her hands clasped over her mouth, not allowing herself to utter a sound. She trusted her friend, but his frustrated, panicked shouts at the pod's computer weren't helping her frightened trembling. She could see the surface getting closer and closer, the swirls of white disappearing past them and uncovering the green and blue scape below.

"I see it!" The mech replied as she used one hand to point in front of them. "Come on...! Just get past the settlement...!"

**Planetary Impact-**

"SHUT UP!"

The femme gave a gasp as her companion grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and wrapping the wings from his back around the two of them. They were going to crash, and he wanted to keep her as insulated as possible.

"H-Hold on, 'Tate!" He informed, and she placed her helm against his chestplate as he put one hand on the back of her helm.

The entire pod slammed into the surface with a loud crack, and she struggled like never before to keep her mouth shut and to remain silent as they tumbled helm-over-heel-struts over and over. The mech clung onto her, being tossed around as they spun, but more determined to defend the smaller bot in his arms.

Finally, after several moments, the pod came to a sudden halt as it rolled into something, and the mech grunted as he was slammed into the front view port. His systems went silent, and his helm really hurt when he rebooted.

"Answer me...!" The femme whimpered, her hands on his helm and her worried optics staring into his.

"I-I'm okay, 'Tate... I'm okay..." He rasped, giving a moan as he attempted to move. "Ah...! No, not okay...Can't fit in this slagged thing...!"

Tate gave a sigh of relief, and then looked out the cracked view port. "...We are trapped in here."

"Right...I can't use my claws to cut us out in this position...You're gonna have to blast us out."

"What? N-No, I can't! I...Don't want to..."

"Hey, take it easy." He pulled her closer to him as she began to twitch and her limbs jerk about. "Easy...I'm in your sphere. I'll be fine. Just real quick and sharp, okay?"

The femme looked uncertain, but gave a nod, shifting position so that she was facing the port. "...Okay..."

She closed her optics for a moment, and then opened her mouth.


	4. 3 Investigation

"You're speeding..."

Sideswipe groaned as Strongarm pulled up next to him. "It's only five over, Strongarm. Like...Every human on the road does that."

"Still counts."

The red sports car sighed, looking around their surroundings briefly.

To their right and the east, stood the cliffs that broke off into the sea. Chilly air blew down from the north up ahead, and two their left were fields, dotted periodically with houses and less sparsely with trees. Clouds were rolling in with the wind, bringing with them the possibility of rain. He'd have to check in with Fixit for a definite forecast.

Flashing lights ahead caught his attention, and for a brief moment, he thought Strongarm had gone ahead, but found she was still driving close beside.

A blockade had formed on the road ahead, and as they reached up to it, they saw the reason... The pod. Humans had parked their cars alongside the road, standing as close as they were capable of going, trying to get a glance and photos of the find. Parents held their kids up on their shoulders, and some men had their female companions on their shoulders as well.

"Officer Rider." Strongarm greeted, recognizing the officer at the front of the blockade.

Officer Rider looked to them, and the faintest hints of a smile appeared on his lips under a bushy mustache. "Ah...Our extra-terrestrial experts have finally arrived."

Strongarm and Sideswipe transformed into bot mode, the crowds all watching with amazement. The wonder and intrigue of their alien visitors was still fresh, especially in the children's eyes. Sideswipe waved at the little humans, gaining giggles and happy gasps in return.

"Did anyone witness the crash?" Strongarm inquired, passing around the blockade.

"Most of the populace were evacuated from the vicinity. So far, we don't have any witnesses to the crash itself. Those that remained here however all describe a very loud noise shortly after the pod landed. Like a scream."

Strongarm and Sideswipe stepped towards the pod, examining it's condition. If it had been in one piece when it landed, it wasn't anymore. The front had been peeled open like a banana, glass from the view port littering the field for hundreds of feet and smoke still pluming from the wreckage.

"Whoever was in this pod, they're gone now..." Strongarm murmured. "...But this was definitely an escape pod from a Cybertronian ship."

"This looks like a single-bot pod, so we should be looking for one bot." Sideswipe expressed. "Unless we're talking about a bot and minicon."

Strongarm nodded, and then scanned the area for any more clues. She did find grass crushed down by large feet, but they only went a few hundred yards before disappearing. "Scrap...Looks like our mystery-bot can go airborne."

"Well that's not helpful." Sideswipe muttered, running his fingers over the metal of the pod. He paused as his fingers ran over an anomaly. "...Hey, take a look at these marks on the floor."

Strongarm returned to his side. "...What about them?"

"Two long, deep pairs of gouges in the metal... Looks like claw marks to me. And groups of three more on the walls. Whoever was in here has some decent hardware on their hands and feet."

Strongarm nodded. "We can see if Fixit can use that to identify them."

"And this."

Sideswipe pointed to the top, where several minor scratches were worn. "...How big _was_ this bot...?"

Strongarm left her comrade to ponder things, tapping her comm-link. "Strongarm to Fixit, we've located the pod, but it's empty. Whoever was in it left in a hurry."

**We already have an idea of who was occupying the pod.**

"How so?"

**Please return with the pod, and then I'll explain. Sending you a Groundbridge now.**

Strongarm nodded. "Pack it up, Sideswipe. We've already gotten a lead back at base..."

* * *

Bumblebee looked up as the light came down from the ship hovering above the Scrapyard, still holding Flashdrive in his arms.

He was surprised when two bots left the ship, lowering themselves down to the ground before the light faded. Primus, he was in so much trouble...

"Optimus, Ratchet. What a surprise." He greeted.

"We apologize for the lack of warning that we were coming, Bumblebee." Optimus informed. "But the situation was far too important to delay much longer..."

Bumblebee felt his frame begin to heat up as the Prime's optics moved down to the virocon in his arms, still fast asleep. "...And I see there are things you have kept from us as well."

Ratchet stepped forward, optics narrowing a little as he pointed to Flashdrive. "...How long has she been here?"

Bumblebee couldn't keep optic contact with the medic. "...Six months or so?" He murmured.

He knew Ratchet was peeved, but he didn't look up even as the medic came up to him. "...And you didn't tell me this _before_ now...!?"

Bumblebee rolled his optics. "Well no...I mean, I was going to...At _some_ point."

The lieutenant winced as Ratchet gently but firmly whacked him on the side of the helm. "Okay, I deserve that. But you were busy with council stuff, and I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh yeah, _that's_ a valid excuse...! What if something had happened? You could've gone offline!" Ratchet hissed.

"Yeah, but nothing happened, so..."

"Bumblebee's been going great as a dad, Ratchet!" Grimlock informed. "He even cleaned up Flashdrive when she was puking this morning without even flinching!"

"Thanks for the support, Grim..." Bumblebee looked back to Optimus. "I wasn't sure how you all would react. I mean, I wanted to wait until Knockout gave his findings to the Medical Council back on Cybertron, and then things just got busy and I didn't want to bother all of you with it."

Optimus smiled a little. "Do not apologize, Bumblebee. It is still a very mysterious and confusing process to many."

"I still want to do a full diagnostic on you." Ratchet informed.

"Yeah, sure..." Bumblebee smirked, but it faded as he remembered what Optimus had said. "Wait, what's the situation that you didn't have time to warn me about before?"

Optimus' face turned solemn once more. "...Shockwave has returned to Earth."

All the bots froze.

"Shockwave? The Decepticon Scientist?" Fixit asked.

"Indeed. We are not certain _why_ he's come, only that he stole an Autobot ship and hijacked the Space Bridge to come here with a team of bounty hunters, and two prisoners."

"Who are the prisoners?" Bumblebee asked.

"Currently unknown." Ratchet replied. "Since Shockwave no doubt is aware of your presence here on Earth, he and the hunters will be attempting to prevent themselves from being located."

"That being said..." Drift intercepted. "...It is highly unlikely that Shockwave or his hunters were occupying the pod that we detected coming down in Earth's atmosphere."

"Maybe it malfunctioned and jettisoned on its own?" Grimlock suggested.

"Or the prisoners escaped in it and are here on Earth somewhere." Bumblebee looked down as the humans came up. "Denny, can I borrow one of your boats for Flashdrive to sleep in?"

"Take your pick, Bee." Denny informed.

As Bumblebee left the clearing, Strongarm's voice came through the comms. **Strongarm to Fixit. We've located the pod, but it's empty. Whoever was in it left in a hurry.**

"As it turns out, we already have an idea of who was occupying the pod."

**How so?**

"Please return with the pod, and then I'll explain. Sending you a Groundbridge now."

The portal was open for a few minutes before Sideswipe and Strongarm came out of it, dragging a wreck of the pod through it and into the clearing. "I'd hardly call it a pod anymore..." Sideswipe muttered.

Bumblebee stepped back into the clearing, overlooking the condition of the pod. "By the Primes...This is a mess."

"Authorities said that witnesses heard a loud screaming sound not long after the crash, and the view port glass was flung much further than someone kicking it loose." Strongarm informed. "Some sort of sonic-based weapon?"

"That'd be my guess..."

It was then that the pair noticed the medic and Prime standing there, and stood at attention. "Optimus Prime, Sir!"

"At ease..." Optimus informed, allowing the bots to relax.

"Okay, here's the short story. Shockwave is here on Earth somewhere with a group of bounty hunters. He also had two unidentified prisoners that we figure escaped and used this pod here to reach Earth."

"So you don't think the occupant is a threat?"

Bumblebee's eyes narrowed. "I never said _that_. I mean, look at these clawmarks... Fixit, come analyze this for me."

The minicon rolled down and Bumblebee held him out to scan without having to climb into the wreckage.

"Deep marks on the walls and floor...Some lesser marks in the ceiling..."

Fixit pulled out a tablet, imputing the information into it for a moment and collecting a sample of the energon left on the floor. "Whoever was inside here was injured. No doubt one of the prisoners was wounded trying to escape."

"But how could two bots fit in this thing at once?" Sideswipe asked.

"Desperation is a powerful thing, Sideswipe...Regardless, we need to locate these missing occupants and identify them, and do it before Shockwave and his goons find them..."


	5. 4 Bonding Or Breaking

"Moisture falling from the sky...?"

Tate held her hand out, letting the tiny drops of liquid fall onto it. The sky over them had become enclosed in the wispy white shapes, only they had turned gray, and blocked out the light from the planet's resident star. The colors of the planet seemed to dim and fade, leaving behind muted versions of themselves, and sagged as they absorbed the liquid and were weighed down.

"And not acid..." The mech looked up from the stream of liquid he was bending over. He scrubbed the dried energon from his frame, wincing a little as he went over his injuries. "We need to get as far from our crash-site as we can."

Tate nodded, turning back to him. "Do you...have a plan?"

"Not exactly... But I'm not going back to that place...To_ either_ of those places."

The femme walked over, putting her hand on his shoulder. "...You are strong... You fight."

"Yeah? ...I don't feel too strong right now...More...Scared."

"Why?"

"I wanted to go so badly...!" He stood up. "I didn't want to go through it all again...The pain, the loss..." He took Tate into a tight embrace. "...I've already lost everyone I cared about once, I don't want to lose you _too_...!"

"You will not lose me... You are not done yet."

"I know...That's what worries me."

He took a moment, and then turned back to her. "Come on, we need to keep moving..."

* * *

"Stop looking at me like that."

Sideswipe's optics focused on the cadet sitting across the aisle from him. "Hmm?"

"You're just looking at me...Staring."

"I was?" Sideswipe shook his helm. "Sorry, I was just thinking..."

"About the prisoners?"

"No, about Flashdrive... How'd she wind up with High Grade in her system?"

Strongarm crossed her arms. "Are you sure it wasn't an effect of one of your pranks?"

"Hey, I'm not_ that_ immature!" Sideswipe stood up. "And I would never do anything to hurt Flashdrive, you know that."

"Sure..."

Sideswipe groaned, rubbing his optics with a hand. "...Why do you hate me so much?"

"Oh I don't know..." Strongarm stood up. "Maybe because all you've ever been to me is a troublesome, little punk...!"

"Hey! Technically my spark is reformatted, so I'm older than you, Cadet!" Sideswipe turned away from her for a moment, and then returned her gaze even stepping closer to her. "I don't care if you think I'm nothing but trouble, but you know what I think about you? I think all you see is black and white. Good and Bad. You don't like to think that there's some gray mixed in there, people who do bad things for good reasons and vice versa."

"I-I don't think like that!"

"No? Then tell me. Tell me why you still look at Flashdrive and see a potential threat."

"She's an untrained juvenile with uncontrolled abilities. She doesn't know that she's hurting people."

"Exactly. She's a _baby_. You can't tell me that you never got into trouble for something as a protoform..."

Sideswipe's angry expression lessened as he relaxed. "...That's your worst fear, isn't it? Making a mistake and being reprimanded for it. And when you see someone else get in trouble and only get a warning, it bothers you because you think they deserve worse."

Strongarm was quiet for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing. "You don't know what I fear, Sideswipe."

"Maybe not...But I can see it in your optics...You want order. I do too, but I know that the universe isn't orderly, and there is no perfect civilization that doesn't have it's messes... Not even a race of robots."

The sports car walked off, leaving the cadet alone once more.

"...I thought you guys were gonna get it on for a second there."

Sideswipe jumped, helm whipping to the side where Bumblebee was leaning against a shelving unit.

"B-Bee! I...I wasn't-"

"It's okay, Sideswipe..." The lieutenant placed a hand on his shoulder. "...We all need to blow off steam sometimes."

**All Autobots report to the Command Center.** Fixit informed. **I have identified our two missing pod passengers.**

Bumblebee nodded, and he and Sideswipe hurried through the stacks to the clearing. "What do you have, Fixit?"

"With some information from Optimus Prime and Ratchet's reports, I have managed to identify our two mystery bots." Fixit pulled up a screen. "Shockwave may have covered his tracks very well, but the bounty hunters didn't. These two, Greasefire and Boltcutter, were caught on film infiltrating a Hylex Mental Facility. Upon further investigation, I found that they had taken one of the patients there with them when they fled... A dinobot by the name of Pterosword..."

An image appeared on another screen. "He was admitted to the facility three Earth-Months ago."

"Why was he admitted?" Strongarm asked.

"The details are vague, only that he was mentally unstable and was a threat to the public because of it."

"What about the other bot?" Bumblebee asked.

"A femme by the name of Transmutate. She too is mentally challenged, something about not being sparked right. She has been attending therapy for several decacycles, but she began refusing treatment three Earth-Months ago."

"The same time Pterosword was admitted to the facility... Are they connected other than being fellow prisoners?"

"Undetermined, sir."

"Why would Shockwave take two mentally-challenged bots as prisoners?" Sideswipe asked.

"Probably to use as test subjects. If they went offline during the experiments, nobody would miss them." Ratchet admitted. "But why he'd bring them here with him is a better question..."

"Fixit, widen your scanning range and see if you can pick up Pterosword and Transmutate's signals. We'll split into teams."

Optimus nodded. "If you encounter them, or Shockwave and his team of hunters, radio it in but do not engage. Ratchet and I will head north."

"Great. Grimlock and Sideswipe, you head west. Strongarm and Drift, east. I'll head south." Bumblebee transformed into vehicle mode. "If you get a reading Fixit, radio it to us and we'll all convene there."

"Of course, Lieutenent."

"And... Keep an optic out for Flashdrive. I don't want to lose her again."

"Lose her?" Ratchet inquired.

"It's a...Long story. Let's just focus on this mission for now. Autobots, Rev up and Roll Out!"


	6. 5 Extraction

It was only a matter of time.

His claws dug into the rock as he scrambled up to the top of the cavern, finding a ledge and setting Transmutate down on it. "Stay here..." He whispered.

"You are going to...get hurt." Transmutate whispered, putting her hand to his cheek. "...Let me help."

"No, not unless absolutely necessary. You don't have training, I do."

"Just because I can't _fight_...Doesn't mean I can't _help_."

The dinobot sighed, taking her hand. "I will be fine... Stay here. _Please_."

Transmutate's expression hinted at thoughts of rebellion, but she finally gave a nod. "Fine."

He nodded and then hopped down, leaving the cover of the cave and climbing out into the small clearing that was outside of it. The entrance was a tiny hole in the ground, not above-ground, and hidden by bushes. As long as he kept their attention off of the bushes, she could be safe inside.

And that meant he didn't need to worry about her. That meant he didn't need to hold back.

The pair of hunters came crashing through the trees like a rampaging buffaloid in traffic, knocking entire branches off and flinging them to the sides. One of them was the guard he'd torn up on the ship. His injuries were still quite fresh, but it was obvious his dedication to his work overruled his need for medical attention and rest. "I am impressed... You still stand on your peds."

"You underestimated the damage you inflicted, Kid...! Where's the other one?"

"The femme? In a much better position than you, I'm afraid."

The other hunter chuckled. "It's always the processor-damaged ones that are the bravest... Isn't that right, Pterosword?"

Pterosword, the name they called him, the name that was on his record, but not his spark. He hated it like he hated them...But in all honesty, he hated them more.

"You can't run forever..."

The dinobot's optics narrowed. "Nor can _you_ stay in Shockwave's good graces forever..." He pulled out the sword he carried and held it out, "I'll go offline before I let that maniac near my circuits...!"

"So be it...!"

* * *

The rainstorm that was falling down on the landscape had lessened to a light drizzle as the west-sent team wandered through the trees. With the townspeople knowing their presence, they weren't worried about running into humans in the woods anymore, which made it easier to check the denser portions where their vehicle modes would become stuck.

Sideswipe took point, Grimlock guarding the rear as they searched for any signs of the missing prisoners.

"Everything okay, Sideswipe?" Grimlock asked softly. "You haven't said anything since we left."

"I don't really wanna talk about it, Grim..." Sideswipe paused, and then gave a sigh. "Ever since Bee told us that our sparks are recycled heroes from the war, I can't help but feel like I need to act more mature, more like a soldier and not..._Me_. Do you feel like that?"

"I'm pretty sure my previous self liked punching stuff _too_, so...No."

Sideswipe sighed. "But Strongarm won't let me prove to her that I'm trying to be different. She thinks it's all an act."

"Change isn't always seen right away, Sideswipe. Remember when Minitron was controlling me, and Strongarm thought I'd been faking it all along? She was wrong then, and soon, she'll realize she's wrong about you too."

"I suppose..."

"But I think you _can_ be more mature and not stop being you."

Sideswipe chuckled. "I guess you're right, Big Guy..."

The pair paused as they heard a commotion, and they ran through the trees to a clearing.

On one side of the clearing was the entrance to a cave, and fighting in the middle was one of the escapees, and two of the bounty hunters. "Scrap...! Grim, call it in!" Sideswipe shouted.

"But Bee said not to-"

"Bee said not to chase after them if they bolted. He didn't say anything about defending them from the hunters!"

Sideswipe broke out of the trees, slamming a foot into one hunter and knocking them aside. He pulled out his decepticon hunter and blocked a few shots fired at the escapee. "Need a hand!?"

"No." Pterosword replied, though an almost giddy grin was on his faceplate. He shot forward, planting several slashes on one hunter's torso and legs. "You are an Autobot?"

"Yeah. You're Pterosword, right? We looked up your file."

"That's the name they gave me..."

Pterosword's wings flared outward a little as he blocked another shot at his face. "Their associates could be here any minute. We need to finish this quickly."

"You don't mean _kill_ them, do you?"

"Do you have a _problem_ with that?"

Sideswipe opened his mouth to reply, but then yelped as he dodged a missile fired at him. The missile crashed into the rocks behind, exploding and sending debris crashing down in front of a larger boulder.

Pterosword's optics widened with horror. "NO!" He shouted, his attention off of the fight for only a second. A shot hit him in the temple and he yelped, then growled, his grip on the sword tightening. "You will pay dearly for that!"

Sideswipe grabbed the dinobot and held him back; not to keep him from retaliating, but to keep out of the way of Bumblebee flying out of the trees in vehicle mode, knocking down both bounty hunters to the ground before transforming into robot mode with his gun out. The rest of the team followed in short sequence, and though one hunter escaped into the skies, Bumblebee and Strongarm cuffed the remaining hunter, standing on them to keep them from moving.

Pterosword hesitated only a moment before rushing over to the entrance of the cave, throwing rocks away. "Transmutate! Hold on, I'm coming!"

Grimlock came over and assisted him. Once the pile was deminished, they paused, hearing coughing coming from inside the cave. "Transmutate!"

The second escapee crawled out over the rocks, slipping for a brief moment before Pterosword caught her arm and yanked her up and into his arms. "I am okay..." She assured, looking down at the wounds Pterosword had sustained in the fight. "...You are hurt."

"Who cares about _me_...!?" Pterosword inquired as he pulled her into an embrace.

"I do...!"

"Are the two of you alright?" Bumblebee asked.

Both nodded, but as Pterosword stood up again, his optics fell on Bumblebee and widened. "...Bumblebee...?"

"Yes...?"

Pterosword gave a hard sigh of relief, "Oh thank the Primes! I was worried we'd be stuck with _amateurs_...!"

"Hey!" Strongarm complained.

"N-No offense!" His expression turned serious once more. "We need to get out of here. Their allies are on their way."

"Right." Bumblebee agreed. "Fixit, activate the groundbridge."

**At once, Lieutenant.**

* * *

It seemed much too quiet.

The moment Flashdrive had opened her optics, she knew something was different. For one, she could think clearly again, and her head wasn't hurting as much anymore. She sat up, overlooking the boat she was in. They must've wanted her out of the way, as usual.

But it was quiet. "D-Daddy? Grim? Sideswipe?" She called. "...Where is everybody...?"

Her feet barely made a sound as she hopped out of the boat and started walking. She'd memorized the maze of stacks and shelves, knowing where everything belonged and which path led where. She heard engines revving and hurried, running around the corner to the clearing. "Fixit, where is-"

Her systems stalled for a brief moment, bringing her to a sudden halt. Though her feet stopped, the rest of her did not, and she let out a squeak as she fell forward. All optics fell on her, and she froze in place, staring back at the pair she had never met and only heard about.

"Well hello, little one..."

The virocon opened her mouth, but nothing came out for several seconds. "...Optimus Prime...!"

Optimus bent down, putting a hand out. "There's no need to be afraid, Flashdrive... Your father introduced us to you earlier while you were sleeping."

Flashdrive hesitated, but finally took his hand and allowed the prime to pull her up to her feet. "D-Daddy talks about you...All the time..."

"Does he now...?" Ratchet muttered. "Never mentioned _you_ to _us_."

Flashdrive shook her helm, "I am not important like you, Mr. Ratchet."

"But you are important." Optimus' optics twinkled, "Especially to Bumblebee."

Flashdrive smiled, "I understand... Why are you here?"

"We have a mission to complete here on Earth. Bumblebee and the others are going to help from other Autobots who are in trouble. They will be back soon."

"They never take me...'Too dangerous.'"

"For such a little one as yourself, it would be..." Optimus bent down to the little bot's eye level, "...but you will grow up and be able to help soon."

Flashdrive's mouth broke into a wide grin, and she grabbed onto Optimus' arm tightly. "Thank you, Mr. Optimus!"

Optimus chuckled, using his free hand to pat the little bot's helm.

**Fixit**, Bumblebee's voice echoed through the command center, **activate the groundbridge.**

"At once, Lieutenant." Fixit replied.

Flashdrive released Optimus as the Groundbridge opened, stepping back as the rest of the team entered with two more bots limping behind. "What happened?"

"Just a scuffle, Sweetspark." Bumblebee scooped up his daughter into his arms, "Glad to see you feeling better."

"Me too...I didn't like being sick."

"Thank you...For helping us." the femme murmured.

"You're welcome, Transmutate..."

"Both of you have a seat so I can check you out..." Ratchet ordered, and the pair sat down on the trailer. "You're both worse for wear..."

"And we'd better get this hunter in a stasis pod..."


	7. 6 Some Questions Answered

"...Somethin's happened."

Treadmark grumbled in agreement. Greasefire and Boltcutter should've been back by now. Greasefire's injuries may have slowed them down some, but even then, it had been too long, and no check-ins in the past three mega-cycles.

Their employer was inside the ship on the hillside, working on something. What that 'something' was, the hunters weren't sure, but they were sure it probably wasn't in their missing prisoners' best interests.

A crashing through the bushes brought them to lift their weapons, poised to fire if it was deemed a threat. They lowered them however, when the bot finally broke free and fell onto his hands and knees. "Greasefire."

Some of Greasefire's injuries from their previous encounter had reopened, spilling fresh energon onto his chassis as he forced himself back up onto his feet. "Evening, Fracture...There was a...complication."

Treadmark's optics narrowed. "What _kind_ of complication...?"

"We found the prisoners- Well, one anyway -and tried to capture him, but then Autobot reinforcements showed up out of nowhere..._Skilled_ reinforcements."

"Drift's posse, no doubt..." Fracture muttered, "...Where's Boltcutter?"

"Captured... I managed to get away. Two-against-two went to two-against-seven real fast...!"

Treadmark growled. "This job is turning out to be more than we bargained for..."

"Maybe," Fracture expressed, "But do either of you wimps want to be the one to tell Shockwave you want out?"

None of them responded for several moments, and then Treadmark gave a sharp nod. "Then it's settled...At least we know Boltcutter won't crack easily..."

"I take it that one of your team has been apprehended..."

The remaining hunters turned to Shockwave as he exited the ship.

"Yes sir... They located our query, but were intercepted by more Autobots."

"I have encountered them before." Fracture informed. "I know how they plan, Sir."

"Then I shall put you in charge of planning the mission to regain our missing property...But before that, you mentioned that you had a former associate here on Earth."

Fracture's face darkened, "Yes...We worked together after the Alchemor stranded him here."

"Then he will have the most knowledge of this terrain...Find him and recruit him."

"And if he refuses?"

"...End him."

Shockwave looked back out into the woods. "My minicon subordinate is still out searching... He will most likely remain out in the field as long as he is able."

"You're not worried he'll run off?"

"No..." He held up a scanner, "I am tracking his position, and he knows what will happen if he does not comply..."

* * *

Night was falling by the time Ratchet was finished tending to the wounded pair, who hadn't said much more than the occasional 'yes' or 'no' following a question. Transmutate was leaning against Pterosword's shoulder, a blanket wrapped around her tiny, thin frame that looked like it might snap in half if you handed her anything heavy. Pterosword's head was drooping downward, optics partially open but occasionally closing for a few moments before snapping back open.

Bumblebee had finally offered to let the two sleep, and both had curled up on the trailer, Transmutate wrapped up in his arms and pressed against his chestplate. Bumblebee couldn't really blame them for being exhausted, they'd been running for days if not longer, and now they were finally able to relax and recharge. It was obvious to them now that the pair knew each other better than just being held captive together, but the team had decided to wait to hear their story until they'd had a chance to recover a little from their experience.

This break in the immediacy of the situation did give Bumblebee a chance to investigate the mystery he'd found the day before, and he made a note to sit down with Flashdrive, now that she was feeling better.

The autobot picked up the little vircon, putting her down on his knee and looking her in the optic. "Flashdrive, what do you remember before you got sick?"

Flashdrive's optics looked back into his. "You want to know_ why_ I got sick." She guessed.

The lieutenant nodded, and Flashdrive's optics shifted as she bit her lip and appeared to be trying to think back. "Well...I was helping Denny and Russell clean up, and then I went and got one of those little cubes of energon because I was thirsty, and I drank about half of it before going to help Denny some more...But I don't think I made it that far. The next thing I remember was being in the park and throwing up."

Bumblebee stroked his chin for a moment. Could it have been the energon? Was the answer as simple as that?

"Did that help, Daddy?" Flashdrive asked.

"Maybe..." He checked the time, and then plopped Flashdrive down on the ground. "Alright, it's bedtime for little bots."

"Aww...!" Flashdrive pouted, but then gave Bumblebee a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying off to bed.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"I won't!"

A chuckle caught Bumblebee's attention, and he turned to Ratchet leaning against the stacks. "What?"

"Spoken like a true parent..." Ratchet responded with a grin. "...You clearly didn't have trouble adapting to her being here."

Bumblebee sighed. "You weren't here for the adaption trouble, Ratchet... I really _did_ mean to tell you eventually, I just didn't know how to exactly. I figured waiting until Knockout had presented his findings would be the best idea, but I didn't want every scientist on Cybertron knocking on our door wanting to do tests on her."

"I understand...And speaking of scientists..."

Bumblebee sighed. "I know... Shockwave will be looking for Pterosword and Transmutate, which may put Flashdrive at risk."

"What're you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know... I may send her to Griffin Rock, or maybe just for Raf to keep an optic on for a few days."

"You've resumed contact with Rafael?"

"Yes... It might've been stupid, but he's really been helpful in our steps towards revealing ourselves to humans." He paused for a moment. "...Hey, you've got medical scanners aboard Prime Force One, right?"

"Naturally...Why?"

"There's something I want to check on... Flashdrive said she just drank some energon before she blacked out. I want to check and see if there was any contaminants."

"I see. Let's get to it, then."

It didn't take long to locate the cube Flashdrive had consumed from; Denny had placed it in a separate place in case Flashdrive wanted to finish it later.

Bumblebee and Ratchet took the cube and entered the ship that was hovering over the Scrapyard and cloaked from human view. Bumblebee had been inside before and wasn't foreign to the layout. They did a brief check for visible contaminants, but found nothing at visual range.

Using the scanners, however, gave them a clue almost immediately.

**Energon sample does not meet quality standards. Residual traces of V05, G16 and CN24 are detected.**

"We knew about the CN24 from Fixit's scans of the energon she brought back up after waking up in the park, but V05 and G16 are chemicals found in the machinery used to harvest energon in the mines." Bumblebee informed. "Any energon that was harvested with faulty equipment has to be discarded."

"Whomever mined this particular batch must've known that." Ratchet overlooked the product number on the cube. "Hmm...I'll look into it. In the meantime, I'd suggest looking into your stash and removing any other cubes from this batch."

Bumblebee nodded. "I'm not going to let the rest of my team get poisoned..."

**Bee! Get back down here!** Sideswipe's voice shouted through the commlink.

"Sideswipe, what is it?"

**It's Pterosword! He's going into some kind of seizure!**

The pair looked at each other, and then abandoned their current mystery to investigate this new one.

They lowered back down to the ground, finding Grimlock holding down the refugee as his chassis shook. Transmutate was standing beside Sideswipe, watching with worry as Ratchet passed to examine the patient. "How long has he been doing this?"

"Just a few seconds before Sideswipe called you!" Grimlock informed. "I didn't want him hurting himself."

"Transmutate, is this normal?" Strongarm asked.

Transmutate shook her head. "No...I mean...He had nightmares...before he was put in the...mental facility, but...Not like this."

"N-No!" Pterosword cried as Grimlock held him still. "S-Stop! Grimlock, help!"

"I'm trying!" Grimlock shouted. "What do I need to do!?"

"I don't think he knows what he's saying, Grim." Sideswipe murmured.

"Grimlock! No! Don't let him hurt the others...! He's gonna kill them! Get out of here!"

Pterosword's thrashing grew harder, and his cries became intelligible, only that he was in pain. Some of the cries came out more like feral screeches, echoing through the yard until Denny and Russell came to investigate. Transmutate was shoving her faceplate into Sideswipe's side, trying not to look as her friend suffered.

After a few minutes, he finally quieted, his body once again becoming still. Ratchet checked his vitals, and Grimlock slowly released the other dinobot and stepped back.

"That was_ some_ nightmare..." Strongarm mumbled, but looked at her teammate as he stared. "...Grim, you okay?"

Grimlock shook his helm. "No...Those things he said... I think...I think the _old_ me knew him."

"But that's impossible." Sideswipe informed. "Not unless he's... A..."

"Sweet Primus...!" Bumblebee looked at the dinobot as Ratchet continued to tend to him. "...This isn't Pterosword at all...It's _Swoop_."


	8. 7 Reminiscing

Swoop's entire chassis ached when it came out of stasis, more than he figured it should. But he'd felt this kind of pain before, and he had a feeling it was because of the same reason.

He gave a moan as he tried to move, his chassis creaking as he moved an arm, then a leg. His optics opened to find the light of morning filtering into the space, and Transmutate looking down at him. "...'Tate'..."

"You had a nightmare..."

Swoop moaned as he sat up. "Yeah...I kinda figured... Feels like I threw out every joint in my body...!"

"They know."

"What?"

Transmutate took his hand. "...They know you are Swoop."

"...Do they believe it?"

The femme nodded. "...I was scared...!"

Swoop pulled her tightly against him. "I'm sorry...You know I don't have much control over these things..."

"That should be fixed."

The pair looked up as Ratchet came over to them, expression stern. "You shouldn't be hurting yourself like this."

Swoop looked away from the medic. "I...I've had a hard time since I climbed back up that hole..."

The rest of the bots came around, some sitting and others just getting down to optic-level. Bumblebee's expression was soft as he placed a hand on the dinobot's knee.

"Tell us what happened..." He requested softly.

"...Every other bot I've encountered, other Resparks...They don't remember who they are, or..._were_, I guess..." Swoop closed his optics. "...It's a curse, being reborn with all that trauma... I've tried to move on, but...Most days I find myself screaming to the Guides to take me back, because I didn't ask to come back... I didn't _want_ to come back."

"You regret being reborn...?" Sideswipe murmured.

Swoop opened his optics again to look at the red sports car. "_You_ _shouldn't_ regret, Sideswipe. You were a hero, you _are_ a hero... I was a twisted, broken shell after what Shockwave did to me... And _now_ I'm just...Broken."

"What did Shockwave do to you...?" Strongarm inquired.

"...I was normal once... It was just a routine mission, it wasn't supposed to go that way... Shockwave took me by surprise, used me as bait to lure the rest of my team in to rescue me...and then-"

"He took us apart."

The bots all looked at Grimlock, whose hands had moved over his chestplate, to where his spark was. Fear was in his optics, staring at the floor. "...We almost died."

"Yes... When we came online...We weren't the same. You tried to call Optimus for help, but it was too late..."

Transmutate placed her arm around her friend. "It was not your fault, Swoop...You were ambushed."

"Perhaps...But it doesn't change the fact that if I hadn't been captured, the others wouldn't have had to come for me..."

Ratchet placed a hand on the dinobot's shoulder. "That's all over now... You're free."

"No, I'm not... That's why Shockwave had me taken from the mental facility... He wants to use me again..." He looked up at Grimlock. "...Any of us he can get."

"He's not getting me!" Grimlock informed. "No way, no way...!"

"No he's not." Bumblebee agreed, and then turned back to Transmutate. "What about you, Transmutate? What's your connection to all of this?"

Transmutate sighed. "...I am not quite sure... My earliest memories...They are of being broken at the top of the Well... I don't remember climbing...Or being carried... Just...Being there."

She took a moment to collect herself and then continued, speaking quickly to get as much out between glitches. "...I met Swoop in the medical bay... He was being checked out after being resparked...I was there for therapy... I had no armor...Just a skeleton... I was wearing random pieces that didn't fit... It hurt... To walk, to talk...I felt trapped in my own body...He was my first friend...Then they took him away to the mental facility... I wanted to see him, but they wouldn't let me!"

"I was put there after a...scuffle, with some jerks." Swoop admitted, "I wasn't used to the new rules, so I got a little more violent than was allowed... They decided I was insane and dangerous...and so I was locked up."

"I tried to get there on my own once... I fell and hit my helm on something... I saw something...Walls in my processor...I heard voices on the other side asking for help. I tried to get through and the walls began to crack... I made a hole in one of them and...and then I was able to cry...I couldn't cry before..."

"Walls..." Ratchet looked into her optics. "...Walls blocking you from feeling?"

"From reacting to my feelings...I made another hole in another wall...and I was able to speak better... That's when I knew why I was broken..."

"Someone blocked you."

Transmutate nodded. "...Somebody didn't want me to feel or fight back..."

"What's blocking?" Russell asked.

"It's like the cybertronian version of lobotomy..." Ratchet informed, "They place mental barriers in criminals' processors that prevent them from being able to coordinate themselves enough to fight back and try to escape detention camps."

Swoop's eyebrows furrowed as he took her hand, "We think it was Shockwave, but what his initial plan for her was, we don't know...Or how she escaped and wound up at the Well."

"So in other words, Shockwave is out to finish some old projects and is rounding up his old guinea pigs at the same time." Bumblebee concluded.

"What's a...Guinea pig?" Transmutate asked.

"They're little rodents that are...I'll explain later."

Optimus bent down to the bots' optic level. "Do either of you know why Shockwave was coming here?"

Swoop nodded, finally standing to his feet. "Yes... He said he needs some device he stashed here, something that in his words 'will ensure none of his projects backfire again'..."

"Then we'd better figure out what that device is and _where_ it is before he can get his hands- err, _hand_...- On it." Bumblebee stood up completely and turned to his team. "Looks like we've got ourselves another relic hunt, Team."

"Joy..." Sideswipe muttered.

* * *

The rays of early morning were peeking out over the edges of the canyon, casting the stone walls in a golden glow. The chilly desert night was burned away by the warmth of the sun, creatures big and small peeking out of their holes to soak in the warmth.

One inhabitant towered over the rest, but had been awake for hours. Night was when he did his best thinking, and he simply watched from the clifftop as the canyon began to wake. This world was not his home...But perhaps one day it would, when he ruled over it.

"I always _knew_ you belonged with the animals, Steeljaw..."

Steeljaw's eyebrows furrowed as the familiar voice spoke from behind him. It was one he knew well, but had fully intended on never hearing again. "...That's a terrible way to greet your former commanding officer, Fracture..." His tone was smooth, despite his irritation.

"You may have given me orders before, but not anymore!"

Steeljaw turned to face the bounty hunter, tail bristling. "Then why are you here? What do_ I_ have that _you_ want...?"

Fracture smirked. "Actually, I'm here on the behalf of my employer... He has an offer for you."

Steeljaw looked the other Decepticon in the optic for a moment, and then turned away. "Pass. I've had enough of working for other Decepticons."

"He doesn't intend on _letting_ you pass..."

Steeljaw ducked to avoid Fracture's slash, whipping back around and getting some distance between them. "A warning, I presume...!"

"Sorry, but Shockwave won't be pleased if I return empty-handed..."

"Shockwave..."

A growl escaped the wolf-bot's throat. "...I'd rather be sealed inside stasis for eternity before I even lift a _digit_ for that bot."

"Ooh... Strikes a nerve, does he?"

Steeljaw didn't want to think about it. He did strike a nerve, but that was a long time ago...He was a stronger bot now. To be honest, every alliance with others had gone terribly wrong for him, even from the very beginning.

He dodged Fracture's next swing, throwing his own with his tail and knocking Fracture back several feet.

The wolf-bot took a brief moment to evaluate the playing field. The plateau they stood on was long and narrow, not much room for movement.

Fracture didn't give him much time to prepare a plan. The next thing Steeljaw registered was the bount hunter's minicons barrelling towards him. He managed to knock one aside, but the other slammed into his shoulder, transforming into bot mode and digging his claws into Steeljaw's metal. Steeljaw growled as he ripped Airazor from his chassis, the minicon's claws causing more damage as they were torn free.

This minor distraction is all Fracture needed, and Steeljaw yelped as multiple shots hit him, knocking him backwards a few steps. He gasped as the edge of the plateau vanished out from under him and he teetered, trying to regain his balance.

Fracture grabbed him and held him out over the edge, a sneer on his faceplate. "Last chance, Animech...!"

Steeljaw's optics narrowed, and then Fracture yelped as the wolf-bot's own claws dug into his faceplate. He dropped the animech, the scratches stinging as he looked over th edge.

Despite his face now bleeding, he smirked as he watched his former boss tumble down the cliffside, slamming through multiple outcroppings before hitting the ground below.

"Did you get him, Boss?" Airazor inquired.

Fracture searched for movement, giving a chuckle as he found none. "...Good enough. Let's get back to our previous job, shall we?"

The bounty hunter transformed and took off into the desert, not much caring if Steeljaw was still online. After that fall, he wouldn't be for long if he was.

The wolf-bot's chassis was still as it laid in the settling dust, but then gave a shudder as he gave a wheezy cough. His jarred systems slowly came back online, alerting him to multiple injuries. He didn't need the alerts to know he was hurt, the pain kept him on his back.

"...Ow...!" He rasped, his optics looking up at the brightening sky. Pain or not, he couldn't leave himself exposed like this.

Damage alerts screamed in his processor to stay still as he rolled over onto his stomach, forcing his arms and legs underneath him and getting onto his feet. "C-Can't stay here...!" He hissed through gritted teeth. His limbs sparked with electricity with each step, and energon dripped from several cuts and dents he'd sustained on the way down. His vision was flickering in and out, but be kept walking. He needed to reach the cave he used as a home... He needed to be out of sight before he could rest.

"One day...One day I will be safe... We _all_ will be safe...!"


	9. 8 Ambushed

"...You're staring, Grimlock."

Grimlock snapped back into reality, grimacing as he realized the other dinobot was right. "Sorry, Swoop..."

Swoop looked up from the cleaning of his blade, a look of sympathy passing across his faceplate. "It's weird for me too... When I realized it was you, I almost didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to be reminded of those days." He looked down at the blade, at his own reflection. "...The rest of you were lucky... When you were resparked, you didn't bring that trauma back with you."

"...What was I like?"

"Stubborn, fearless... Loved finding things to punch."

"Sounds like I haven't changed much."

"There are some things...You're softer; you're much gentler with people you care about than you were then... But your past life is not what you should focus on." Swoop stood up, "...I just hope I can uncover what my mission back here in the living realm is."

"Maybe it's just to have another chance at life."

"Maybe... But I feel it's more important than that."

They both turned to the command center as Bumblebee entered the clearing, Optimus close behind.

"Anything new, Fixit?" Bumblebee inquired.

"It's slight," Fixit pulled up a map on the holoscreen, "But I _am_ picking up a faint signal of some sort of weapon, _under_ Crown City."

"I'm up for some spelunking!" Sideswipe announced, a wide grin on his faceplate.

"It could be nothing," Fixit reminded.

"But it also might be something. If we can pick up the signal, then Shockwave and his remaining goons probably can too."

"Good point..." Bumblebee rubbed his chin, "...Alright, you and Strongarm head over there. Be careful, and scout it out first. Don't go running in without a plan."

The pair gave salutes to their leader, and then transformed and drove off out of the clearing.

"You think they'll be alright out there?" Swoop worried.

Grimlock grinned, "Don't worry, Strongarm and Sideswipe may argue sometimes, but they're a good team. They'll be fine."

A smile appeared on the pterobot's faceplate, "Well if you're not worried Grim, then neither am I..." He stood up, putting his hands on his hips. "Would you be interested in sparring a little? I have some stiffness I need to get loosened up."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"_Please_ don't break anything in the process!" Denny hollered from the Command Center. "I'm still replacing stuff from the last time...!"

Transmutate shook her helm, "Swoop is careful... He won't."

Her gaze moved back to Ratchet as he did a more thorough evaluation of her frame, trying to uncover the source of her twitching. Flashdrive sat beside him, her optics watching his hands with interest. "Find anything?"

"Yes." Ratchet announced with a smirk, "_Finally_, something about you that I can do something about... It'll only take a few minutes, but it should reduce your twitching significantly."

"That's the best news I've heard all day." Swoop replied, "Come on, Grim. Let's go get some punches in."

"Oh yeah!"

* * *

"..._You're_ awfully quiet all of a sudden."

Sideswipe had been lingering some distance behind Strongarm ever since they'd left the Scrapyard and he'd allowed her to take point. No revving engine, no snarky attitude. It was kind of worrying her.

"What's the matter?" Strongarm asked, "You coming down with something?"

"Bee told us to scout it out, and that requires stealth, which requires silence." Sideswipe answered quietly, "...Also I've noticed that any time I open my mouth, you get mad at me, so..."

"That's not... It's not _every_ time. You just get on my nerves."

"And I'm trying to avoid that, so just let me be submissive to your commanding force in peace, okay?"

"Well...Fine."

Strongarm picked up the pace, and Sideswipe followed suit. Neither one spoke for several minutes, just making their way down the road in silence.

The silence was finally broken by Fixit's voice ringing through their comms. **Fixit to Away Team.**

"We hear you, Fixit." Sideswipe answered, "What's up?"

**I'm picking up the signal again, more strongly this time... It's on the move.**

Sideswipe groaned, "The 'cons must have beaten us to it."

"Fixit, is there any way we can intercept them?" Strongarm inquired.

**If you pick up the pace, you may be able to reach them just before the Crown City Bridge.**

The pair revved their engines and shot forward down the road. "We _can't_ let Shockwave get his hands on this tech, whatever it is."

"Right." Sideswipe pulled up beside her. "So what's your plan?"

"Get that tech and get it back to base. Simple."

Sideswipe flashed his lights in response, pulling back behind her once more.

The bridge came up on them quickly, and they saw a large cybertronian vehicle rumbling back across the bridge from the city.

"Hold it right there, Decepticon!" Strongarm barked as she transformed into bot mode, holding out her pistol.

The decepticon sighed, transforming into bot mode as well and holding a large helmet-like device in one hand. "They send two sparklings to do a warrior's job...I thought you Autobots were smarter than that."

"Drop the artifact."

The decepticon placed the device down on the asphalt. "...If you insist."

The autobots dodged as he fired at him with a laser rifle, rolling to the side. Strongarm fired at him, but her shots only seemed to bounce off of his armor. "Nice try."

Strongarm tilted her helm in confusion, what kind of armor was he wearing?

It distracted her long enough that she didn't notice the explosive before it was too late.

"Strongarm!" Sideswipe cried as his teammate was blown back and tumbled off the bridge, splashing into the water below. He whipped around to block the attacker's blade with his own; Strongarm was probably fine, she could wait for help.

He knew this second decepticon, and the pair of them dueled, dodging and striking in turn, but Sideswipe pushing him back until the treeline blocked him from falling back further. "Fracture! What're you up to!?"

Fracture grinned, "You'll _never_ see it coming, Autobot...!"

Sideswipe heard a click behind him, but was unable to dodge the shot that was fired. His vision shorted out as the projectile slammed into his helm, and then he collapsed onto the ground, his systems shutting down into the cold darkness.

Treadmark replaced his rifle in its holster, kicking Sideswipe to ensure he was out. "Think Shockwave will want this guy?"

"Tempting, but let's not take on more responsbility than we need..."

"What about your associate?"

Fracture chuckled, "He won't be bothering us anymore...Now, where's the Automator?"

"It's right..."

The bigger decepticon looked over where he'd placed the device, but it was suddenly missing. "...It was right there, I swear!"

Fracture growled, looking around for their quarry, but not seeing it. "Nevermind that. We'll come back for it; the rest of those Autobots are probably not far behind."

The two decepticons then drove off, leaving the scene before anyone else could catch up to them.

* * *

Strongarm had been stunned by the landing, but only for a moment. She'd found herself at the bottom of the bay, but not too far from shore. She'd also seen the device resting a few dozen feet from her.

She grabbed it, slipping it into her subspace before scrambling up the rocky slope towards shore; Sideswipe might still need her help up there.

The second her helm broke the surface, she was listening for a fight, but it was uncomfortably silent. She'd been washed a little ways downstream, but the bridge was still in sight. She pulled herself up onto the shore, her chassis pouring out water as she stumbled up onto her feet. It weighed her down, making her a little unsteady on her feet as she limped towards the bridge.

"Sideswipe?" She hollered, looking around the road for her teammate. "Sideswipe, answer me! Oh please don't be botnapped or something... If you're playing with me, I'm gonna-"

She turned as she heard Sideswipe gave a terrified wail, and she ran towards the sound. "Sideswipe!?"

Sideswipe was struggling to get up from the ground, his arms and legs shaking underneath him. "I-I can't...I can't-"

Strongarm helped him to sit up, "Sideswipe, are you-"

Strongarm's optics widened as she looked at Sideswipe's and he shrieked in terror... They were gray, with no light behind them.

"I CAN'T SEE!"


	10. 9 Hurting and Longing

"Hey hey...!" Strongarm placed a hand on Sideswipe's shoulder, gasping as the mech grabbed onto her tightly around the neck.

Sideswipe's chassis shook with sobs, his tight grip on her never easing. "I can't...! I can't...It's so dark...! Don't let go of me, please! Don't let go of me!"

"I won't! I won't..." Strongarm assured, "Ratchet's back at base, he can help...!"

"Don't leave me...!"

"I'm not!" Strongarm placed a hand on the back of the mech's helm, trying her best to console him. "S-Strongarm to Fixit, send Ratchet to our coordinates, and hurry!"

She held her terrified teammate in her arms as he cried, some tears of her own welling in her optics.

"Sunny!..." He cried, "Sunny, help me!...Please...!"

"S-Sunstreaker's not here...!" Strongarm informed, "But you're going to be okay. I've got you...!"

It was clear to the cadet that her teammate was beginning to go into shock, and Strongarm didn't know what to do; she wasn't a medic.

"I want my brother...! Where's Sunny...!?" Sideswipe whimpered like a sparkling, "I want my brother...!"

Strongarm just held him in her arms, rubbing his back and stroking the back of his helm. "Shh..."

She looked up as a groundbridge opened, and Ratchet and Bumblebee stepped out of it. "What happened?" Bumblebee asked.

"His optics...He's terrified...!" Strongarm whimpered, biting her lip as she tried not to break down as well. "Help him, Ratchet...!"

Sideswipe wailed as Ratchet tried to take him from Strongarm, his fingers digging deep into her armor and leaving scratches. "Don't let go of me! Don't leave me alone!"

"Okay then..."

Ratchet pulled out a syringe and then injected Sideswipe with it. Sideswipe continued to sob, but after a few seconds, his grip loosened, and he slumped over.

"Shh...Come here..." Ratchet whispered as he carefully pried Sideswipe's arms free of Strongarm's chassis, and then picked up the sedated bot. "We're going to get you help..."

Bumblebee helped Strongarm up to her feet, her own chassis shaking. "Come on...I think you need some medical attention too..."

* * *

At first, nobody was completely certain what had happened. Strongarm's tone had been urgent, and they could only hope that Sideswipe wasn't dead.

Ratchet and Bumblebee had rushed through, and then a few moments later, they returned. Ratchet came through first, Sideswipe limp in his arms but still having all four limbs, which was more than Jetstorm had guessed.

Bumblebee then exited, holding Strongarm and guiding her slowly over to an open spot before helping her sit down.

"What happened...?" Russell asked cautiously.

"Ambush..." Strongarm stammered, closing her optics slowly. "...Fracture and another 'con..."

"Fracture...!" Drift hissed, "Is he working for Shockwave?"

Strongarm nodded, looking up to Bumblebee as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I...I got knocked out for a minute...When I came to...Sideswipe was screaming."

Ratchet laid Sideswipe down on the trailer, allowing the other bots to see his optics' blank, lightless stare.

"...Is he-" Grimlock started, but was cut off by Ratchet lifting a hand.

"He's still online... But his optics aren't." He informed, running his scanner over the mech's optics. "...Hopefully I can repair them."

Swoop pulled Transmutate closer to him, his optics narrowing. "This can't continue... We're putting your team at risk."

"No. We promised that we'd protect you and we will." Bumblebee stood up, "But we need to formulate a solid plan."

Optimus nodded, "Bumblebee is correct. It is clear that they are prepared for us to be split up... We can't afford that any longer."

"Well...There's no need for us to go searching..."

Strongarm reached into her subspace, pulling out the device she'd confiscated from their adversaries. "...I got it."

Ratchet looked over, and his chassis went stiff. The scanner slipped from his hands in his shock, but Flashdrive dove in and caught it before it hit the ground.

"_That's_ not a good sign..." Swoop muttered.

"That's an Automator..." Optimus murmured, "...One of the most vile medical instruments forged by the Decepticons during the war."

"The Reaper of Souls..." Transmutate whispered, the clearest sentence she'd spoken since they'd arrived.

"Why can't we get an _Autobot_ weapon for once?" Russell muttered.

"Because we Autobots didn't make weapons unless it was Wheeljack experimenting on the fly." Bumblebee informed, "..._Those_ usually wound up being explosive fingers or whatever."

"I remember _that_..." Swoop murmured with a grin, but it quickly vanished as the topic went back to the situation at hand. "...While a Spark-Extractor would kill the bot by pulling their lifeforce out of their bodies...The Automator took away a bot's life... They were online, but they weren't alive."

"Just robots that took orders from whoever reprogrammed them..." Ratchet murmured.

"Good grief!"  
The bots all turned as Hank came riding in on her bicycle, looking up at the crowd in the clearing. "I swear,_ every_ time I come here, there's more bots I've never seen before."

"Hank. Good to see you." Bumblebee greeted. "Hank, this is Transmutate, Swoop, Optimus Prime and Ratchet."

"Oh..." Hank saluted to Optimus. "Sir!"

Optimus gave the slightest of smiles, "I assume she is another of your allies."

"My best friend, yes." Russell slid down the front of the Command Center, leading Hank through the crowd of bots and back out of the way. "We're in the middle of a serious conversation..."

"Oops. Sorry."

"Anyway..." Ratchet redirected the conversation as he picked up the Automator carefully, "...This device should be destroyed immediately, so Shockwave cannot get access to it."

"But what about the stored souls?"

They looked down to Flashdrive as she got back up and placed the dropped scanner onto the trailer. "Won't there be souls inside of it that'll be destroyed too?"

"How do _you_ know about that, little one?"

"She _'borrows_' the Alchemor's computer memory some nights when she's supposed to be asleep." Fixit tattled, and earning a face from Flashdrive.

"I like to learn new things!"

"That's a virocon for you..." Bumblebee mumbled, "Still, she has a point. If any of the bots that this device was used on are still online..."

Ratchet sighed, "Then for now, it should be locked up tight... On Prime Force One."

"Very well..." Optimus agreed, "I will place the device on the ship. Ratchet, see what you can do for Sideswipe. I can only imagine that our upcoming conflict will require as many bots as we can muster."

"Of course, Optimus."

Strongarm shuddered as she looked away from Sideswipe's empty gaze, looking up as Transmutate placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He is strong..." She whispered, "...Have faith."

Strongarm smiled at her fellow femme, "Thanks, Transmutate..."

Transmutate nodded, and then took a seat beside Strongarm.

* * *

Surely he'd be suspicious by now.

It had been hours. He'd wandered further and further into the trees, into the shadows, hoping that eventually the beeping right behind his head would finally cease and the tracking signal would go out.

He'd waited for him. Solar cycles turned to lunar cycles, lunar cycles to stellar cycles. He finally got tired of waiting. If he wouldn't come to them, then they'd go to him. He was the oldest, so naturally, he would be the one in charge...

...Or at least, that was what he thought. The others had not necessarily agreed, and they all had their reasons for thinking they were the best choice.

They hadn't even gotten a solid plan for getting off the planet when it suddenly woke up from death under their feet. Light came from beyond the place they'd called home for ages, and they started towards it.

If only they hadn't been found by Shockwave first.

He had taken on the leader role, helping the others escape... But he hadn't been as lucky.

Now he wandered a world covered in organic life, but mostly covered in blue water he had found an increasing interest in. It even fell from the atmosphere sometimes, like the acid rains of Cybertron, but completely harmless.

He'd been sent out to search for the Automator on his own, and that was all he wanted; to be alone. The collar clasped around his neck continued to beep, reminding him that Shockwave was watching his every move. He'd been out so long that the other search parties would definitely have returned to the ship by now, and Shockwave would be getting suspicious of his motives.

The moist surface under his feet squished a little as he paused at a stream of water, sniffing it before taking a few cautious steps across it.

A scent came on the wind, a scent he'd long since picked up, but never forgotten. "...Soundwave...?"

He turned towards the direction the scent had come from, seeing a city through the trees and across a river. Could his missing master, his mentor, be so close after all this time?

He started towards the city, but then was stopped by a sharp shock coming from the collar. He growled, scratching at the annoying device, but unable to get it off. He started again, but the shock once again stopped him: His captor was calling him back.

"S-Shockwave indeed...!" He hissed, looking back at the city. He wanted to go, to flee this torture, but not yet...First he had to get loose of his chains. "Master...Wait for me...!" He whimpered, and then hurried back through the trees the way he'd come._ Just a little longer..._


	11. 10 Strategizing

Sideswipe was getting tired of this. In less than a year, he'd been in this darkness three times, meeting up with a guide to the Afterlife who never stuck around for long.

But this time, it seemed different. Normally, he could at least see himself, but now all he saw was black in all directions. He heard soft sounds around him, and the guide was nowhere to be seen. He tried to call out for her, but his voice seemed to catch in his voicebox, unable to utter a sound.

He sat up after realizing he was lying on his back, searching the darkness with his hands for something, anything.

"Sideswipe!"

Sideswipe felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around him, along with a familiar voice calling his name. "You're awake..."

"...Sunstreaker...!?"

Sideswipe felt his brother's armor with his fingers, he heard his brother's voice, but he still saw nothing. "W-What's going on? W-Where are we...!?"

"We're...We're in the Scrapyard, Sideswipe..."

"Why is it so dark? Why can't I see you, or anything _else_, for that matter?"

"It's going to be okay, Sideswipe...Your optics are damaged, but they're-"

"I'm blind!?" Sideswipe grabbed onto his brother tighter, his sparkbeat quickening as he began to panic.

"Not permanently!" Sunstreaker assured, placing a hand on the back of Sideswipe's helm. "...Ratchet says the damage can be repaired..."

"H-How did you get here? How did you know I was-"

"I'm your brother, remember...? I was at home when I suddenly felt like something was very wrong, all I could feel from you was pure terror. I called Bumblebee and he told me, and I was on the next Space-Bridge jump here to Earth...Strongarm said you were crying for me when she found you."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. You kept the attention off of her long enough for reinforcements to show up."

"At the cost of one of my important sensors..." Sideswipe sighed, letting Sunstreaker just hold him for several seconds. His ears pricked, however, as he heard footsteps coming towards them. "Who's that?"

"It's just_ me_, Sideswipe..."

Bumblebee's voice responded, and then he felt the team leader place a hand on his shoulder. "...You alright? Anything else damaged?"

"I...No." Sideswipe turned his head in Bee's direction, "...I ache all over from the hits, but nothing as bad as losing my sight."

"And we'll get that fixed_ too_, I promise."

"Did... Did they get away with the weapon?"

"No. Apparently it was knocked into the river at some point and Strongarm was able to obtain the Automator and bring it back."

"An Automator...!?" Sideswipe's chassis trembled at the word. He hated the thought of what might've happened if it had been used on him when he was out of it. "...Damn."

"Yeah...We have it sealed away until we can deal with Shockwave, and then Optimus and Ratchet will be taking it back to Cybertron to be _properly_ dealt with."

"Thank Primus..."

Sideswipe's grip on Sunstreaker loosened a little as he calmed himself. "...How long do you think until my vision comes back?"

"Ratchet's...Not sure exactly. You took a nasty hit to the helm back there."

"I remember _that_ much..."

It was then that Sideswipe remembered something else. "...Steeljaw."

"What?"

"When I was passing out, I...I remember that other con asking Fracture about Steeljaw... He said that he wouldn't be bothering them anymore."

He heard Bumblebee's chassis stiffen, "...Fracture must've decided to take him out to prevent him from interfering."

"I doubt he killed him." Strongarm's voice joined, "Steeljaw's not gonna go down that _easily_."

"You're right...But that still means that Steeljaw isn't a variable on the board for the moment. We need to work out what Shockwave's next move will be."

"Guess I'm benched, huh?"

"You'll be back in the field soon enough, Sideswipe." Bumblebee patted the sports car's shoulder, "But for now, you just focus on recovering. Flashdrive's here to help you if you need anything."

"Yeah...Sure..."

Sideswipe felt his brother and teammates leave his immediate vicinity, but he could tell they hadn't gone too far. It sucked not being able to see, hearing footsteps but not knowing who it was...

* * *

"What do you mean, '_you lost the device_'...!?"

Greasefire's voice was barely a hiss, but he was still checking to see if Shockwave was around.

"Don't worry." Fracture assured, "We'll just go back later tonight to get it."

"And if our adversaries find it first...!?"

Treadmark shrugged, "I don't think those tots will find it any easier, especially since we took one of them out." His optics shifted to the long slash on his teammate's neck; he knew that hadn't been there before. "What happened to you?"

"That last prisoner...She's got sharp claws for a genius bot."

Fracture chuckled, "You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah? And what about those claw marks across _your_ faceplate? Did your _associate_ do that?"

"Cease this useless prattle."

The bounty hunters all became silent as Shockwave spoke from the ship's entrance. "Our focus should be on the next phase of my plan. The Autobots will no doubt have taken my Automator and placed in a safe place within their stronghold. All that is required is for us to lure them out and leave it unattended."

His helm turned as there was a rustling, and then his minicon subordinate stepped into the clearing, head lowered. "What did you uncover?"

"Nothing worth _your_ while..." The panther muttered as he avoided the decepticon by several feet.

"Do not forget that I rescued you from ruin, minicon."

"I would not consider your actions fitting of the word '_rescue_'... And I have not forgotten what you did to my fellow minicons."

"Return to your place, or I shall muzzle you as well."

The panther growled, but said nothing more before slinking back into the ship.

"What's our next move, Boss?" Fracture cooed with a grin.

"It is no secret that the Autobots are quite protective of the human race... And it just so happens that we are a short distance from an entire city full of them... Our next move is obvious."

* * *

That night, the Autobots all surrounded the Command Center, brainstorming while leaving Sideswipe asleep on the trailer with Flashdrive by his side in case he needed something.

Sunstreaker leaned against the stone, his head lowered as he listened to the rest of the bots whisper to one another.

"Shockwave is one of the most famous decepticons in history," Strongarm murmured, "...We can't let our guard down...Look what happened when I did."

"This is not your fault, Cadet." Sunstreaker informed, squeezing the cadet's shoulder. "You were ambushed, anyone could have been taken by surprise."

His optics shifted to Ratchet, "Do you have any idea when my brother's sight will return?"

Rathet sighed, "...I can't say that it _will_ if he remains _here_. I know of a procedure that has an Eighty-Percent chance of restoring him, but I don't have the equipment here with me."

"So he'd have to go back to Cybertron for a definite solution..."

The Representative looked to his brother, his eyebrows furrowing. "...Do you think he'd _agree_ to that?"

"If it was only temporary, then maybe..." Bumblebee rubbed his chin, "...He could live with you for that period?"

"Absolutely. To be honest, having some time together might be a good idea, considering our relationship is still a little rocky. I'm sure Starstrike wouldn't be against seeing him again either."

"When he wakes up, we'll explain the situation to him." Bumblebee gave a hard sigh, "...That still leaves us figuring out what Shockwave's going to do when he finds out _we_ have the Automator."

"Maybe I should just take it back with me and Sideswipe." Sunstreaker suggested, "It would be off-world and he'd have no reason to remain here."

"It's a chance to lure him in." Strongarm informed, "To finally capture him and make him _answer_ for his crimes."

"I don't think using it as bait is the best option." Ratchet argued, "We can't risk him getting his hands on it again."

"I agree with Ratchet. It stays where it is." He placed a hand on Strongarm's shoulder, "I know that what happened has made this very personal for you, it has for all of us. But we can't let our feelings get in the way of doing our job properly."

Strongarm nodded, clenching her jaw and returning to her solemn, calm expression. "Of course, Sir."

"Good. Now let's get started on preparing for defense if he does show up..."


	12. 11 Attacked

Sideswipe wasn't sure what time it was when he came back out of sleep-mode, but it must be at least early morning because he could hear machinery getting started somewhere to the right of him.

His sensors were compensating for his lack of sight by increasing the input of the others. Sounds that had been tolerable now seemed incredibly loud, he could feel every individual grain in the wood forming the trailer he laid on, and he could smell someone had opened a canister of fresh energon recently.

He sat up, putting a hand to his helm as it retained an ongoing ache from before. He still couldn't see, he was still disabled.

He felt the trailer shift underneath him, and then someone's plating brushing against his down by his leg.

"Good morning, Sideswipe!" Flashdrive's eager voice greeted, though fortunately remaining somewhat quiet.

"Morning, Flash..."

Sideswipe swung his legs off of the trailer, feeling the dusty ground under his peds.

"Do you want anything?"

"I'd like to be able to see," He admitted, "But for now...If you could get me a small energon cannister?"

"Be right back!"

The trailer bounced a little as the virocon hopped from it, and then he heard her footsteps slowly get quieter as she got further. Other footsteps told him his team was up and moving as well, a shuffling sound being Transmutate's limps across the yard. They'd told him that her twitching was much better than before, but she was still struggling.

"Feeling any better?"

"Gyah!"

Sideswipe jumped from Swoop's voice suddenly being in his audio receptor, and he gripped the trailer to keep himself from falling over. "How in the Allspark does someone as big as Grimlock move around so _quietly_...!?"

"Sorry... I've just learned how to place my feet in order to reduce noise in my steps."

"Could you teach that to Grim?"

"But his loud, ground-shaking footsteps are part of his charm. I doubt that Tyrannosaurus Rexes were very quiet when they hunted, they just waited until their prey was close enough and then thundered after them."

"I guess...I've never actually seen an organic one, so we may never know."

Flashdrive's quick footsteps alerted Sideswipe to her arrival.

"The Rescue Bots have seen real ones." She informed while slipping the cube into his hands, "That's one of the reasons they have dino modes."

"You know bots who scanned organic lifeforms?" Swoop inquired, "But wouldn't that cause issues with their systems?"

"It does..." Optimus informed from a little bit away. "...I once had a dino mode myself, but it was removed when I was reformatted by the Hammer of Solus Prime."

"That would explain why we've never seen it," Sideswipe concluded. "Although, there have been quite a bit of things I haven't seen lately."

"Yeah...About that."

Sunstreaker walked over to his brother's side, taking a seat by him. "We were talking last night, and... Ratchet's not sure how long it'll take for your optics to repair themselves normally."

"Is there a way he could speed it up?"

"There is a procedure that has an eighty-percent chance of success, but... He can't do it here, he doesn't have the equipment."

Sideswipe's shoulder slumped, "...I would need to leave."

"Right. Not _forever,_ but just until your optics are repaired and you get the 'okay' to come back here to the team."

The blind bot was silent for several seconds, his processor going over everything that had just been said. "...Okay."

"Good. Once this is all worked out, we can-"

Sunstreaker was cut off and Sideswipe covered his audio receptors as a loud blaring horn came ringing over the Scrapyard.

"_That's_ not good...!"

* * *

The Autobots all rushed to the Command Center, where Fixit was frantically pressing buttons on the console.

"What's the situation, Fixit?" Bumblebee inquired.

"I'm picking up Shockwave's signal along with the rest of the Bounty Hunters, heading straight for Crown City," Fixit informed.

"Denny and Russell went into town an hour ago and aren't back yet!" Flashdrive worried.

"He must be using the humans as a means to lure us out." Strongarm surmised.

"Well, he's doing a good job of it..." Bumblebee muttered, "...Fixit, lock down the Scrapyard. Don't let anyone in or out unless I give the word."

"Yes, sir."

"What do we do?" Transmutate asked, looking up as Swoop placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You stay here with the others, I'll go with Optimus and Bumblebee to protect the humans."

"But you might-"

"Transmutate, please..."

The pterosaur stroked her helm, "You're important to me...We won't be gone long, I promise."

"...Alright."

Bumblebee turned to Sunstreaker, "You in?"

"Those 'cons blinded my brother, I will most definitely fight by your side."

"Great."

The Lieutenant then turned back to the minicon. "Fixit, if something goes wrong, I want you to groundbridge Flashdrive to Griffin Rock. She'll be safer there."

Flashdrive crossed her arms with a pout, "I don't need babysitting!"

Bumblebee bent down to his daughter's optic level. "But you can go see Snowblast. You haven't seen him in a little while."

"I guess..."

Bumblebee smirked, but it disappeared as he felt Ratchet's glare down his neck.

"And _who_ exactly is Snowblast...!?" Ratchet accused.

"...Blades' sparkling?"

Ratchet's optics narrowed, "How many _other_ sparklings are here on Earth that you _failed_ to mention to me!?"

"Just these two!... I _think_."

Ratchet grumbled, crossing his arms. "Well, at least Blades is a medic himself, so I won't need to worry about him too much...We'll discuss this later."

"Agreed." Optimus informed, "Autobots...Roll out!"

The bots transformed into vehicle mode or dino mode and drove off towards the exit of the Scrapyard. Swoop took off into the air, looking down at Transmutate for a moment before flying after the team.

"I hope the humans are all okay..." Flashdrive mumbled.

* * *

"...Dad, you've been looking at those cans for ten minutes."

"Contemplating prices for bargains is an important skill when purchasing _anything_, not just green beans, Son."

Russell rolled his eyes, looking at the two prices between the two brands of green beans. They weren't that different from each other, surely it wasn't that big of a deal.

He pulled out his phone as it buzzed, finding a text from Hank. He slipped a few steps away from his dad's side before opening it, not wanting Denny to eavesdrop on their conversation.

His eyes widened, however, as he saw the words.

**Find a bomb shelter if you can. The bots just flew past the house in a rush for Crown City.**

Russell quickly texted back, **Will do.**

"Dad? We might have an issue."

"See? You have to _ponder_ these-"

"No, not the beans!"

Russell held up the phone, and after a second, his dad's face changed to seriousness. "Shockwave...!"

Denny nodded right as a loud rumbling came from outside, and then a flash of light was accompanied by the glass doors at the front shattering. Denny covered Russell as the glass flew through the air, and then pulled him down to the floor. Other shoppers were panicking as well, dropping to the floor and seeking cover under anything they could find.

"Everyone just stay calm!" Denny shouted, hoping the others would take his advice to heart.

Crown City had dealt with Decepticon attacks before, but never when the 'Cons were deliberately attacking the humans and the buildings inside of them.

"Everyone move to the back in an orderly fashion!" A cashier ordered, reaching down and pulling Denny up to his feet but keeping down. "It's safer back there!"

The shop was fortunately not packed at the time, so everyone hurried into the back room where they were directed. Loud booms and the ground shaking startled them all, and Russell found himself holding a little toddler in his lap as she cried from terror. "It's okay...!" He whispered, "We're gonna be okay in here...!"

"What the hell is goin' on out there!?" Another man shouted, "It sounds like we're being bombed!"

"Essentially...!" Denny hissed, "Everyone just stay calm and it'll hopefully pass...!"

Russell flinched as a particularly loud boom shook the space, and he held the toddler tighter. "Bee, hurry up...!"


	13. 12 Battle of Crown City

Smoke plumed from the city by the time the bots reached the perimeter. "Scrap, we're too late...!" Strongarm hissed.

"There's no such thing as too late!" Sunstreaker replied, "What're your orders, Sir?"

"Sunstreaker, Swoop, go to the places already hit; make sure there aren't any humans trapped." Optimus commanded, "The rest of us will intercept the Decepticons."

"Yes sir!" Swoop replied, and then the yellow Lamborghini and pterosaur took off towards the smoke, while the rest headed in the directions of the immediate explosions.

There were four bots responsible, six if you counted Fracture's minicons, and there were eight of them not including Sunstreaker and Swoop on rescue operations. They outnumbered the Decepticons, but they already knew that numbers didn't always matter. They needed to keep on their guard...

"Hit them where it hurts, Team!" Bumblebee ordered. "But try to minimize damage and don't let humans get harmed!"

Drift caught sight of his rival almost immediately, and he transformed into bot mode, kicking Fracture aside. The decepticon went flying a few meters down the street, scraping up the asphalt. "Fracture...!"

Fracture chuckled as he got up from the ground, "Drift...I was _hoping_ they wouldn't have you on the sidelines."

Both deployers released their minicons, and then rushed into battle.

Grimlock punched one of the other bounty hunters back, teeth bared. "_That's_ for Sideswipe! _That's_ for Swoop and Transmutate! And _THAT_!-"

He swung his tail, throwing the bounty hunter across the parking lot they'd gotten into. "...Was because I like punchin'...!"

The hunter wiped energon from his lips, "...Just like _all_ the Primitives...Simple-minded, unintelligent _beasts_."

Grimlock growled, and then let out a roar as he rushed his opponent.

Strongarm and Bumblebee found themselves facing the same bounty hunter that had taken out Sideswipe's sight. Strongarm fired her laser rifle, teeth clenched. "You won't get that chance again!" She snarled.

"Don't let your anger cloud your judgement, Strongarm." Bumblebee reminded, and then yanked the Cadet to cover as a missile was fired in their direction. "Okay, is it just me, or that guy's armor really dense?"

"It's not just you. We need to find a weak point."

Bumblebee nodded, peering over the wall they were hiding behind. "The question is how without being obliterated in the process..."

* * *

While the shaking and loud explosions had faded into the distance, none of the market's occupants moved from their hiding place. Not that they really could; a loud crash and the light under the door vanishing alerted that a wall had broken and blocked the door, preventing them from escaping.

Fresh oxygen was still coming through a grate in the ceiling, but nobody wanted to try to climb out _that_ way.

The good thing was that the barrage was over, and the panic of those inside had subsided a little; the bad thing was that they were still trapped, with no idea how long it would be until help got to them, and the fighting was still audible in the distance...It wasn't over.

Russell leaned his head against Denny's shoulder, trying to think of something other than being trapped in a concrete cell with dozens of other people.

But then he heard a sound that caught his attention, and he scrambled closer to the door.

"What is it?" A girl asked.

Russell listened, and then heard it.

"Anyone in there!?"

"WE'RE HERE!" Russell shouted, pounding on the door and hoping it would make enough noise. Soon enough everyone else was shouting with him, trying to let their rescuers know where they were.

There was the sound of crunching footsteps, and then after a moment, the ground shook in a thud and then the door was ripped from its hinges. Russell coughed as concrete dust flew up into his face and winced at the sudden light, but then looked up at the shape currently on his hands and knees in order to fit inside the building.

"Autobot!" The toddler Russell had been comforting ran over and hugged Sunstreaker's wrist, which brought a smile to the representative's faceplate.

"Everyone alright? Nobody dying?" Sunstreaker asked, and after getting a comforting chorus of 'no's from the freed prisoners, he gave a nod. "Okay..." He jumped as a piece of the roof dropped in and hit him in the shoulder, a series of cracks alerting them that it might happen agian any moment.

"O-Okay then... I'll cover you all, just go underneath me and and I'll hold it up for you."

The humans didn't need to be told twice. Parents collected their children and scrambled over rubble and broken store shelves towards the doors twisted open by the blasts. Several times pieces of the roof dropped down, but they never hit the humans as Sunstreaker held it up.

Denny and Russell were the last two, and there was a loud, ominous creaking coming from the roof as they came out of the room. "What's the status?" Denny asked.

"Swoop and I are on rescue, everyone else went to deal with the 'cons. I just hope no more humans are-"

The representative gasped as the roof creaked even louder, and Denny and Russell ducked under him as a massive chunk of the roof came down. Sunstreaker grunted as it slammed into his back, shoulders and helm, but stood fast over the humans.

"Are you okay?" Russell asked.

"G-Go...! I can't hold it...!"

His arms creaked as he struggled to hold up the weight, and Denny and Russell rushed towards the door. They broke free of the doors, and then they heard a loud crunch as Sunstreaker finally dropped the concrete and girders off of himself.

A few seconds later, the entire roof dropped like an opening zipper, and they had to look away as dust came flying out of the building.

"S-Sunstreaker!" Russell hollered, hoping the Autobot was okay.

After several silent moments, a rumbling came and then Sunstreaker broke free of the concrete, stumbling out of the wrecked market. He dropped to his knees, dust flying out of his mouth and exhaust as he coughed it out of his systems, and then he lifted his helm back up. "I-I'm okay...Gonna need a good buffing when I get back home, though."

Russell gave a sigh of relief as the rest of the crowd broke into applause, and then he looked off towards the smoking city. "...You'd better go look for others... I just hope everyone's got this handled..."

* * *

"I...Am...So..._BORED_!"

Fixit rolled his optics, looking at where Sideswipe and Flashdrive were both dangling off of the trailer, whining in unison. "I offered to let you help me with the work up here, Flashdrive."

"I'd rather keep what processor function I have, Fixit."

"I dunno...At this point, I might even do _that_." Sideswipe muttered, "I'm gonna get sloppy on my fighting skills just sitting here like one of Denny's collective figures."

"...He's coming."

They all looked to Transmutate as she limped into the clearing, "...Shockwave is coming...For the Automator."

Fixit examined the scanners, "I...I don't see anything incoming, Transmutate."

"Trust me...I know what he sounds like."

"...She's right." Sideswipe agreed, his head turning slowly. "...I can hear him."

"How long do we have?"

"...A few minutes." Transmutate estimated.

"Of course he's coming..." Sideswipe muttered, "He has all of the decent bots in the city defending the humans, leaving only the disabled bots for him to have to deal with."

"I'm not disabled anymore!" Fixit complained, "And Flashdrive isn't either...But I see your point." Fixit turned to Flashdrive, "That means we need to get you out of here."

Flashdrive crossed her arms, "I'm not leaving."

"Flashdrive, if you get hurt from Shockwave, then the Lieutenant will have my helm. So-"

Fixit stopped as Flashdrive's tendrils flared out around her in an aggressive stance.

"I. Am. Staying."

"...Okay." Fixit responded, looking back to his sensors and muttering under his breath. "Come on Fixit, you're being intimidated by a little _sparkling_...!"

He began to activate the security lockdown sequence, but then got an error message. "Error!?...WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEED TO UPDATE? I UPDATED YOU A WEEK AGO!"

"The grid's down!?" Transmutate worried.

"Yes, and it'll take it an hour to reboot and reactivate."

"We don't have that kind of time!"

"I have a plan."

The youngest member of the team got up and then hopped up on a barrel. "It's a good one, trust me!"

"Flash, I like your enthusiasm, but-"

"Come on! I have a good idea! It will keep him busy for a little bit!"

Fixit and Transmutate looked to each other, concern on their faceplates.

Transmutate was the first to speak. "...We do not have much of a choice."

"No...We_ don't._"


	14. 13 Finishing the Job

Adventure never seemed to leave him alone for very long.

Of course, that had been one of those things he'd sought after for most of his life. The wilds of the world had been his backyard his entire life, wild animals his playmates and over time, his lifestyle.

Hard times fell on everyone eventually, and the boy of the wilderness now found himself in an entirely different jungle...A concrete one. Finding someone to take him with his particular skill set was tough, especially when he had a record. His previous adventures hadn't always gotten him on the right side with the law.

The ship he was working did nothing involving animals, but instead was bringing in building materials for housing. It was tedious and boring, but it was money, which was something he was short on at the moment.

But their voyage had been cut short by something slamming into the ship from somewhere off the harbor. Now, it was not only late on its course, but it was on the verge of sinking.

He was on the lower level, treading water in a pocket of air that was steadily getting smaller as more water filled the compartment he'd been sent to close when a wave had washed him in. His limbs were tiring, his oxygen was running out, all he could see was darkness in all directions. The metal moaned loudly in his ears, the occasional splash of water.

Was this it? Was this how he would spend his last few moments...?

A loud clang and the ship shuddering told him something else had hit the ship, but then came loud screeching of metal against metal, and then the top of the compartment was ripped open, and he winced at the bright light as he looked up.

"Primus, where's Seaspray when you _need_ him...!?" Came a hissing voice, and then a claw of some sort reached in and clasped around the marooned worker. "Hold up, Tiny. I've got you."

The man was yanked free of the water and into the air, flying up and out of the doomed ship by what he guessed was a crane, until he looked up again.

It was no crane. It was a giant robotic pterosaur, flapping its wings and gliding over to shore before dropping him gently down on the docks with the rest of the crew of the ship. He dropped to his hands and knees, panting and enjoying his new freedom.

"At least you humans _float_ somewhat..."

The man watched as the pterosaurian form of the robot shifted, pieces of metal and joints moving around until it was no longer a pterosaur, but a giant humanoid robot. "..._We're_ not that lucky. You all might wanna just sit here and avoid the rest of town... it's kind of a mess."

The man nodded, a smirk of his beginning to form. "...Right...Thanks for the help, Mate."

The robot gave a nod, and then hurried down the docks and back into the city itself.

"You good, Quarry?" The captain asked.

"Fine."

Quarry got up onto his feet, rubbing his chin with a grin. _So...Those bots back on Griffin Rock weren't Doc Greene's creations after all... Interesting..._

* * *

"Come on out and play, Autobots!"

Bumblebee growled from his hiding spot. This Decepticon seemed to have no soft spots on his armor, and was just taunting him and Strongarm now. He adjusted his pistol, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm starting to wonder if I should just play dirty and aim for the optics." He muttered.

"It's not like you'd be frowned on." Strongarm encouraged, "Arcee and Cliffjumper did the same with Shockwave back during the war, right?"

"Well yes, but that was under different circumstances." Bumblebee peeked back over the wall they'd been using for cover, studying the Decepticon's framework, his height, his build... "...You know what? I just got an idea. Cover me."

Strongarm nodded, jumping out of hiding and firing at the Decepticon's faceplate. He dodged the shots, but his attention was then on Strongarm as she dashed from debris pile to debris pile, keeping his attention off of the Lieutenant.

Bumblebee transformed into vehicle mode, "Let's just hope this works as well in vehicle mode...!" He hissed, and then he tore off in the opposite direction as Strongarm, his Decepticon Hunter at the ready. With a brief thought, it shifted into a grappling hook, and he fired at their adversary's legs, watching it catch on his leg armor before driving around in a circle. "BATTLE OF HOTH, DON'T FAIL ME NOW!"

The Decepticon turned back to the Lieutenant and fired at him, knocking Bumblebee off-course, but his grip stayed on the decepticon hunter, allowing him to yank the decepticon over as he spun out. "NOW!"

Strongarm rushed forward and cuffed the decepticon on both his arms and legs, even planting a kick his helm once she was certain he was down. "_That_ was for Sideswipe." She hissed, "You're under arrest."

Bumblebee retracted the grappling hook and then transformed back into bot mode, grimacing as he rubbed his back. "Ah...! I'll be feeling that tomorrow...!"

"What in the Allspark made you think to do that?"

"An old Earth film...Raf had me watch it one time as part of my Earth Culture Training..." He then tapped his comm. link, "Grimlock, what's your status?"

**Gimme about two more punches and I'll have this one!** Grimlock alerted with a triumphant tone.

**We are being victorious as well!** Jetstorm announced.

"Swoop, Sunstreaker, how are rescue efforts going?"

**Making my way back from the docks right now, Bumblebee. No casualties on my end**. Swoop reported.

**A little battered from having a ceiling fall on me, but otherwise fine.** Sunstreaker admitted, **I can confirm that the Clays have been rescued and are in a safe location.**

Bumblebee gave a sigh of relief. "Thank the Allspark...Keep me posted."

"Sounds like everyone's got it covered for now." Strongarm informed.

"Agreed. Stay here and make sure this one doesn't go anywhere. I'm going to start clearing roads."

Bumblebee transformed back into vehicle mode and took off into the streets, listening for any signs of trapped humans along the way.

A cry brought Bumblebee to a halt, and he shifted his mirrors to look around. "Hello!? Is someone there!?"

"We're stuck!"

Bumblebee looked up, seeing a crowd of humans standing in a building where part of the wall had collapsed; about forty feet up. "Stay away from the edge!" He hollered, transforming into bot mode once more and then turning as he heard sirens: The First-Responders were finally getting through. "The fire department's on their way!"

He blasted a few large pieces of debris clear of the path, and then stepped back as a firetruck came rolling into the clearing. "There's humans up on the fourth level."

"We're on it!" One of the responders replied, "Get the ladder ready!"

Bumblebee stepped back further, and once he'd made sure the situation was under control, he transformed back into vehicle mode and headed down the road.

**Drift to Bumblebee: Fracture and his minicons have been apprehended.**

**Same here, Bee!** Grimlock hollered into the comm. **This guy's not goin' anywhere!**

**Get off of me, you oversized-**

Bumblebee didn't hear the rest of the bounty hunter's complaint, but he transformed into bot mode by the bridge. "The first-responders are already getting to work on rescue operations, great job everyone... Bumblebee to Fixit, we've apprehended the remaining bounty hunters. We could use a groundbridge."

There was no response, only static.

"Fixit?... Fixit, come in!"

**Ratchet to Bumblebee. That fourth signal Optimus and I were pursuing is a fake! Shockwave isn't in the city with his underlings.**

Bumblebee looked back at the other side of the bridge, his optics wide as he realized his message wasn't getting through to the command center, and if Shockwave wasn't _here_-

"No...No no no no-"

**Go, Lieutenant!** Strongarm barked.

Bumblebee didn't need to be told twice before he transformed into vehicle mode and tore across the bridge and down the road. "Sideswipe, Transmutate, anyone! Please answer me! Primus no...!"


	15. 14 Ambushing the Ambusher

Everything was going to plan.

It had been his plan to have the Autobots find the Automator for him, and now with them all defending the organics in the city, he would have no challenge entering their base of operations and retrieving what rightfully belonged to him. The alarm-disruptor in his possession kept his entrance silent, preventing any warnings to be sent to the Autobots and tip them off.

He'd planned it all out thoroughly... Just like always. His only failures had been because of some unknown variable brought in by some Autobot that should never have been there. It was very frustrating, having his logic overthrown by mere luck.

It was clear that the property also housed humans. It was too disorganized to be only under Cybertronian control. More disorder that he'd have to wade through.

It all seemed empty, quiet... To the point that he didn't even notice at first.

The processor was an odd and yet fascinating thing. It could make you feel extreme pain but have no reason for it, or you could be seriously injured, and yet not feel the pain until your optics saw the injury and alerted your processor of it. It could make you see things that were not there, or warn you of danger when there was none.

This could not be more true than in this very moment. Though he felt a slight tap on his right side, he'd initially not paid it any mind... But when he attempted to move his right arm...It would not. He examined it, dangling limply at his side, and no command from his actuators would even twitch it. His systems did not alert him of any damage, and he felt no pain, instead a numbness.

He pondered this for a brief moment as he continued on his way through the stacks. Logically, there had to be some explanation for the paralysis. No bot lost feeling for no reason. Perhaps a lingering injury from the war was responsible, but all of his systems were at peak perfection according to his diagnostics...

No, there was nothing wrong with his diagnostics, either.

A soft clinking sound alerted him to movement, and he tilted his helm to the side rapidly. Had he not been previously occupied in his thoughts, he might have noticed it, but now it was too late. Something smashed into his optic, knocking his helm back and disabling his equilibrium. He stumbled back a few steps, his foot stepping in something squishy that oozed into the components as he flailed the arm that was still functioning to grab onto something. He found a solid object and grasped it, taking a few more steps to right himself.

_Now_ his systems were alerting him to damage, but to his optic, not his suddenly-bum arm. Whatever it was that had hit him was now embedded into his optic, and his visual sensors were barely functioning because of it. He groaned, using his functioning arm to feel the object before yanking it out of his optical socket.

Whether or not the action was wise was not among his things to ponder at the moment. What had sent the object- which felt to be a metal projectile- flying into his optic was a better question. Or what he'd stepped in.

He could only conclude that the Autobots had booby-trapped their base of operations, a wise and logical decision. But how he hadn't detected these traps was what was currently on his mind. His visuals were mostly dark, rendering him mostly blind as he regained his footing. No matter, he'd been blinded before and still continued his tasks.

He shook his foot in an effort to remove whatever he'd stepped in, but it seemed quite content to remain.

Then came a loud, blaring sound from elsewhere... A proximity alarm.

Perhaps the yard was not as empty as he'd originally assumed.

Other than the alarm, the space remained otherwise fairly quiet. Shockwave was not about to let this stop him. No Decepticon would accept defeat so easily, especially not him. He felt his way through the ever-narrowing passages, wondering what warrior Autobot had succeeded in getting the best of him. "I am aware of your presence..." He called out. "I do not need my sight to disable you."

There was no response. No footsteps or voices.

"I am impressed... Not many can evade my detection... But you will still fail."

The sides to the passage disappeared abruptly, leaving the scientist to wander forward aimlessly. _Clever Autobots... But not clever enough._

He heard movement from the side, and he reached out and grabbed the projectile coming at him. He heard a cry of surprise and felt the multiple shapes slithering in his grip; system probes. "Ah...A virocon, are you?"

The owner whimpered as she tried to free herself, and he heard more probes fired. He knocked them aside, and his attacker yelped as she was yanked upward.

"Let me go!" She hissed angrily. Their voice sounded young..._very_ young.

Now Shockwave just felt insulted. This enemy wasn't some veteran warrior with centuries of experience, it was a tiny protoform barely out of the Well. An _infant_ had succeeded in ambushing him. "You won't get that chance again, little one...!"

Several shots came from behind him, knocking him down to his knees.

"Now!"

Shockwave's hand was occupied keeping himself upright and clutching the probes already fired; he'd snagged four, but he felt two more snap onto the sides of his helm, and then a surge of energy that brought the scientist into darkness.

* * *

Flashdrive's optics widened as her processor attacked the Decepticon's, colors inverting for a moment before the enemy dropped to the ground. She gave a sharp gasp as she pulled out of it, falling backwards.

"Flashdrive!"

Fixit sped down from the Command Center and over to the downed virocon. "Flashdrive, are you-"

A hand cut him off, and Flashdrive sat up slowly. "...I'm okay." She admitted. She gave a grunt as she yanked her tendrils free of his grip, looking up at Fixit. "Uh...Don't tell Bumblebee that he grabbed me, okay?"

"Can't report what I didn't _see_, Flash." Sideswipe replied with his first grin since he'd lost his sight.

Fixit nodded, "Sure... Let's just get him into a stasis cell before he wakes up."

Transmutate limped out of her hiding place, "...I will help."

With help from Denny's giant magnet, the three of them got the scientist into a pod and closed it. Fixit double, even triple-checked the seal, and for anything Shockwave might use to wake himself. Steeljaw had fooled them in that manner once, it wouldn't happen again.

Flashdrive was more interested in the other occupant of the Scrapyard; the black kitty she'd seen sneak into the scrapyard just before Shockwave arrived. She left the clearing, searching the shadows amongst the stacks and moving slowly. "...I won't hurt you." She whispered, "...And he can't hurt you anymore either..."

After a few minutes, she saw the glint of red optics beside one of the stacks. She didn't move, just got lower, even on her hands and knees. "...Please... I want to help you..."

"Why should I trust _you_...!?" They snarled.

The tiny bot smiled as she turned her back to them. "Okay, you can stay there."

Several seconds passed, and then she spoke again. "...Did he take you away from your family _too_...?"

"...Yes."

"...I just want to get that collar off. That's all."

Several seconds passed, and then she felt his tail brush her hand. "...That's all."

"That's all..."

It took a few more moments before the feline came up into her view once more. She moved slowly, not showing any kind of aggression as she brought one tendril out and connected it to the collar. It glitched and sparked a few times, and then dropped free of his neck.

The cat backed away, shaking his head hard before scratching at where the collar had irritated his neck. "Ah...! That is better..."

Flashdrive saw the Decepticon symbol on his chest, but remained calm. "...You're free now. You can go wherever you want to."

"But why...?" The panther came closer to her again, "I saw how easily you took down Shockwave, why not do the same to me?"

"Because I don't have a reason to hate you... You are just as much a victim as Swoop and Transmutate." She smirked, "_You're_ a Decepticon soldier, why haven't you ripped my circuits out yet?"

"...I-"

"Flashdrive...!"

Flashdrive looked up, her optics widening as she saw Fixit standing there looking back and forth between her and the decepticon. "...What are you doing...!?"

"L-Look, I can explain."

Fixit focused on the intruder for several moments, and then sighed as he crossed his arms. "We'll deal with this when the Lieutenant returns...Until then, I'm going to try to get the comms. systems back online..."


	16. 15 Relieved

Bumblebee wasn't the only bot that was making a B-line for the Scrapyard. The lieutenant hadn't made it much further from the bridge on the other side of the river when Swoop's shadow passed over him, the pterosaur's wings beating hard. "Fixit, please come in!"

**I have called in some of the Rescue Bots to assist in the efforts here, Bumblebee.** Optimus informed, **We will be behind you as soon as we can.**

"Great! Brilliant!" Bumblebee stammered before his engines roared and he surged even faster down the street. "Primus, I should have just sent them all to Griffin Rock _before_ we left!"

**You can't think of everything, Bumblebee.** Swoop encouraged, **But let's just hope we're not too late!**

When they reached the Scrapyard's entrance, it was wide open, but there wasn't any obvious signs of it being blown or pulled open forcibly. "He was able to just walk in...GUYS!" He hollered as both veterans rushed into the base.

Bumblebee's panic only increased as he saw the trail of mess that led all the way to the clearing: the stuff knocked off of shelves and shattered, and energon drops led him into the clearing. He rushed into the open once more, where he saw Flashdrive sitting with her back to him and staring at a stasis pod in the middle of the clearing. "Flashdrive! Sweetspark...!" He ran over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "A-Are you hurt? Did they..."

His voice trailed off as he looked up at the occupant of the pod, his optics widening and jaw dropping. "...Did...Did you _do_ that?"

Flashdrive nodded without taking her optics off of the pod, and Bumblebee saw a long piece of scrap metal that had been twisted into a spear of sorts in one of her hands, and that had dried energon on its tip.

"...All by yourself?"

"No..."

They all looked to Transmutate, who was currently pushing Swoop away as he panicked over her as well. "...Fixit and I...Helped her a little. _See_ Swoop? I told you...I could help."

Bumblebee examined the scene. Shockwave was in a cell, Sideswipe was huddled up on the trailer and fiddling with a Rubik's Cube like nothing had happened, and Transmutate, Flashdrive and Fixit were all dirty, but otherwise fine. The energon had been Shockwave's... Their allies were all unharmed.

Only one word seemed to leave his lips as he shook his helm in disbelief. "..._How_?"

Flashdrive then looked up at him, tears in her optics. "...I was _naughty_." She waved the spear, "I poked him in the eye with this, and then Fixit knocked him over to I could knock him out...And then... we put him in the cell."

"She also disabled his cannon arm with pressure points I showed her from the Command Center's medical files." Fixit added, "He'd disabled the automatic defense grid, so we had to..._improvise_. The ambush tactic was her plan, actually."

"So that's how you got close enough to attack him with _this_?" Swoop took the spear, examining it.

Flashdrive nodded, and then looked down at her feet as she began to cry. "_Please_ don't be mad at me...! I _made_ Fixit let me stay! I just wanted to...To do something heroic like everybody _else_...!"

"Mad?"

Flashdrive gasped as Bumblebee scooped her up into his arms, pulling her up and stroking the back of her helm. "Sweetspark, I'm just thankful you're all alright...! I'm not mad at you for _defending_ yourself...But don't ever do that again."

"Y-Yes Sir..." Flashdrive wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, "Please tell me that Denny and Russell are okay!"

"They're fine. Sunstreaker got them to safety."

"Thank Primus...!" Sideswipe sighed, closing his optics as he relaxed. "...And...The Bounty Hunters? We hadn't been able to access the comms. system since 'Tate told us Shockwave was headed our way."

"They've all been apprehended... The others will be back here as soon as they get the situation in Crown City under control...You're all safe."

Transmutate grinned as she rested her helm against Swoop's torso, "You have no idea...How comforting that is...!"

Bumblebee smirked, his mind thinking back to that day, when Optimus had told everyone that Megatron was gone. "Actually...I think I _do_..."

* * *

"Okay, let me see if I got this right..."

Strongarm tapped the side of the stasis pod gently, "...You guys took down Shockwave all by yourselves? A minicon, two disabled bots and a sparkling?"

Flashdrive sat on her father's lap, her legs swinging as she nodded. "Yeah... Total fluke. It should _not_ have been that easy."

The rest of the team had come screeching in just as Fixit had gotten the long-distance comms. back online. Sunstreaker had Denny and Russell in his cab, their truck having been crushed in the initial attack, and all three had gone to check on Sideswipe, who was just happy that _they_ were all okay.

Once the Bounty Hunters were all locked up in cells and any residual danger was removed, they all plopped down into the clearing to just sit and rest.

"I'm still wondering how you were able to javelin throw this spear into his optic." Ratchet murmured as he examined the makeshift weapon.

"They never let me leave the Scrapyard, I get bored and try out new hobbies."

"It seems they were not as helpless than we initially thought..." Optimus bent down to Flashdrive, putting a hand on her helm. "...Well done, little one."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

She stiffened as Optimus raised an eyebrow. "I-I mean, is it _okay_ if I call you that...? You kinda raised Bumblebee, so..."

Optimus' confusion shifted to a grin as he chuckled, "If that's the way you _feel_, Flashdrive, I will allow it."

Sideswipe smirked as Strongarm sat down beside him. "So she can call him _that_, but I couldn't call him 'Pops'...?" He whispered.

"The way _you_ said it was _condescending_..." Strongarm whispered back, "Besides, 'Grandfather' sounds more... Elegant. Fitting for a Prime."

Flashdrive grinned, but then a loud 'AHEM!' came from Fixit, and the smile faded as she was reminded of another thing to be addressed. "There _is_ one more thing I should mention..."

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow, "Yes...?"

Flashdrive looked over to the command center, and Bumblebee saw a shape peeking out from behind some of the rocks. Their optics were narrowed, stance hesitant.

Optimus was the one to step forward. "...Ravage."

"Optimus Prime..." Ravage rasped. He didn't move, his ears pulled back as Optimus bent down closer to his optic-level. "...I am vastly outnumbered... Attacking would be foolish."

"We know him?" Grimlock asked.

Swoop smirked, elbowing his fellow dinobot. "Him? _He's_ probably the reason you hate cats, Grim!"

"Ravage is one of Soundwave's minicons, or at least _was_ during the war."

Ravage gave a hiss. "I _still_ am!" His face seemed to fall, however, as if he didn't fully believe what he was telling them.

"What do we do about him, Sir?" Strongarm asked.

Bumblebee gave a sigh as he crossed his arms. "Well...That depends on Ravage's next move... Flashdrive, what do _you_ know about this?"

Flashdrive bit her lip as she tapped her fingers together. "...I-"

"She helped me." Ravage interrupted, lowering his helm. "The control collar Shockwave had fitted me with, she removed it... It's my fault Shockwave found your base so easily, he was pursuing me while I searched for-"

"So you are working with Shockwave _too_...!" Strongarm hissed.

"Not by _choice_, I assure you!" The panther spat, tail lashing. "You have not seen how he treats minicons, much less animech ones! ...We're little more than beasts and potential test subjects to him...!"

"Join the club, Ravage..." Swoop muttered, bending down to the minicon's level. "I know _exactly_ how he treats us."

"What are you going to do now?" Bumblebee asked.

Ravage looked uncertain, finally sitting down and curling his tail around his paws. "...I _thought_ I knew...Now... I don't know." He closed his optics, "...As long as I have no master giving me orders, I am free to do what I choose..."

"And what do you choose?"

Ravage was still, and then opened his optics again and looked Bumblebee in the optic. "...Until Soundwave comes for me- and he _will_, -I will be on my own... I will stay here on this planet, but _not_ with you Autobots."

"No attacking humans?" Ratchet warned.

A smirk appeared on the minicon's face, "Please, I have neither desire nor need to even _associate_ myself with those...meatsacks."

"Spoken like a true _cat_..." Bumblebee muttered, "...Then I suggest you go where you will be less likely to be locked up for being out of place, Ravage."

"Which is _where_ may I ask?"

"The Amazon. There are plenty of organic versions of your appearance there, and as long as you do not harm any humans, you are free to do whatever you see fit. We can use the groundbridge to send you there, where you'll hopefully never be bothered again."

Ravage looked around the clearing, at all of the Autobots and Flashdrive. "...Then send me. I have no further reason to remain here..."


	17. 16 Return and Recovery

And as quickly as the threat had crashed into their schedule, it was gone. Ravage was sent to the Amazon to hide out, the Bounty Hunters all locked up in stasis cells, and then placed on Prime Force One for transportation back to Cybertron.

Bumblebee looked up from his work putting supplies on the ship to see Sunstreaker carefully leading Sideswipe across the clearing. The red sports car was now wearing a visor of sorts that covered his blind optics from view, to protect them from debris while they healed. His hand gripped Sunstreaker's tightly, eyebrows furrowed.

"Okay, about three more paces..."

Sideswipe nodded, "...Man, this is gonna be more difficult than I thought... I thought I had this place mapped out in my processor."

"Yeah..." Denny looked back at some smashed debris, "...Tell that to my vintage Space War Motorbike and Cruiser..."

"Don't worry," Sunstreaker patted his brother's shoulder, "Starstrike will be there to help you, and then you'll get your sight back and be right back here in no time."

"I hope so... I might go crazy just sitting around an apartment for days on end."

Bumblebee smirked, and then turned to Swoop as he and Transmutate entered the clearing. "Are you two heading back too?"

Swoop shrugged, "I don't know...I don't want to go back into that asylum, but I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"You can stay with _us_!" Grimlock offered, "I'd love to have a long-term punchin' buddy!"

"Hmm. Tempting, Grimlock. But I don't think Bumblebee would like to be reminded of how _destructive_ two dinobots are when they're in one place for very long..."

"But you know..."

Bumblebee's lips curled into a smile as he rubbed his chin, "...There might be a place for you and Transmutate to stay here on Earth for a little while... There's a weapon here on Earth that needs guarding. To make sure that no Decepticon ever tries to re-activate it. There are no humans settled there, plenty of privacy for you two to recover and figure out what your next step is going to be."

Swoop's lips twitched with a grin, "What kind of weapon are we talking about...?"

Bumblebee's optics shifted towards Ratchet with uncertainty for a moment, and then he quickly answered in a soft tone. "...Seismic-Shock Warhead."

"A _WHAT_!?"

Ratchet grabbed Bumblebee by the shoulderpads, "There was an SSW here on Earth this _entire time_ and you never...Bumblebee, what other _important_ bits of information like that are you holding back!?"

Bumblebee grimaced, "...You know what?" He squeaked, "Why don't you and I just go over there for a little bit to _discuss_ it...?"

"Good plan."

The medic and Lieutenant then wandered off into the Scrapyard with Ratchet practically holding the younger bot by the audio receptor.

"We will... _wait_ for the coordinates then?" Transmutate asked with a slight smirk.

"We're gonna miss you, Sideswipe..." Strongarm assured, "...Really."

"Yeah, I know..." Sideswipe waved an arm around, feeling for his teammate until Strongarm took his hand between her own. "...I'll be back and you'll be sick of me again soon enough, Cadet."

"Sideswipe... I-"

"I know." He gave a smirk in her direction, and then relaxed. "Okay... Take me in, Sunny."

Sunstreaker nodded, and then guided his brother up into Prime Force One, giving a wave to the others before disappearing.

Strongarm forced back the tears trying to escape her optics, and then looked to Flashdrive, who was sitting on top of a stack with a clipboard in hand. "What're you doing, Flashdrive?"

Flashdrive's tongue was sticking out a little bit as she scribbled on the clipboard, "Just...Thinking about what happened yesterday." She murmured, "...Ravage, he... He didn't attack me... _Why_...?"

Strongarm shrugged, "Why do Decepticons do anything? They're Decepticons."

"Yeah...Why _do_ they do anything...?" The virocon began scribbling faster, "What spurs on their decisions?"

"Hey hey, that wasn't an invitation to psycho-analyze them, Flash. It's not something to worry about."

"But-"

"Flash... _Don't_."

Flashdrive's optics narrowed as she paused, overlooking the words at the top of the paper: **_Are All Decepticons Evil...?_**

Strongarm may not think it a smart idea, but Flashdrive was more than determined to find out...

* * *

**...System Repairs Seventy-Percent Complete.**

Steeljaw's optics fluttered open as he finally regained consciousness. He'd clawed and scratched his way into a cave, barely getting his entire frame inside and out of sight before his systems plunged into regenerative stasis, leaving him disabled and easy pickings for any Autobot that might pass by and encounter him.

He didn't know how long he'd been lying there, but the cool, stone floor and moist air told him he was still in the cave, undisturbed from his place. His entire body still ached terribly, but he wasn't dead, which was something Fracture had seemed certain of, or he wouldn't have left him without finishing the job.

The wolf-bot's frame groaned and creaked as he forced himself up onto his hands and knees, crawling a little further into the cave and darkness. Transforming into vehicle mode wouldn't be an option for a while, but as long as the Autobots couldn't find him, he didn't worry about that. What he needed was energon and time to recover, and right now, the former was what he didn't have access to. He needed to conserve what he currently had, waiting until he had high chances of obtaining some with minimal effort.

He crawled a little further, before his optics picked up a light source coming from ahead of him. He lifted his helm, his optics focusing on the bluish light pulsing from further inside the cave. He hissed through clenched teeth as he got up onto his feet, keeping a hand on the wall and finding the surface was smoothed out, almost as if carved by a machine.

Blue light and carved-out tunnels? He couldn't _possibly_ be that lucky...

He wandered further down the tunnel, his strength returning little by little as he made his way closer. His lips twitched into a relieved smile as the tunnel then widened and the ceiling heightened, exposing the remnants of an abandoned Energon Mine. Tools laid about the floor, drills left unattended; it looked like the miners had just up and left, taking nothing with them.

Steeljaw figured that from the small size of the deposit, Megatron must have decided it wasn't as important to mine here as it would be to mine a larger deposit, sending the miners to assist elsewhere and abandoning this one. It was nowhere near the amount necessary to fuel an army... But _plenty_ for just one Decepticon.

Steeljaw searched the cavern for a hand-held refiner, something that would take the crystalline form of the energon and make it possible to use for sustanence. The miners would have had one in case their cubed supply of energon went out before another shipment arrived. Though he found two in poor condition, there was one that looked like it might still function.

The wolf-bot placed it against one small crystal and clamped it on tight, fiddling with the controls until it whirred to life. He found a small piece of metal shaped like a bowl, placing it under the refiner and watching the fluid drip out of the other end and into the bowl.

He could keep himself from starving this way... Hidden from the Autobots and with a supply of food and shelter from storms, this could even be a base of operations once he recovered.

"Not to worry, Bumblebee..." He rasped, taking the bowl and sipping some of the energon from it thirstily. "...We'll be back to our usual programming soon enough..."

* * *

**And here we are at the end of Book 2! Yay us! Just as Steeljaw states, we will be back with this storyline. I don't know when exactly, but I will be uploading a sequel to Blessings in Disguise soon, so stay tuned for that!**


End file.
